Give Me the Meltdown
by ifandonlyif
Summary: Derrick likes Massie, Massie likes Cam, Cam likes Claire, and Claire is pretending to like Derrick? Based on True Love, the Sphinx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles. Enjoy! And smile!
1. Chapter 1

_Hey Guys! So this is the first full-length story I've been working on, but about zero of it is super original. The plot is based of the story True Love, the Sphynx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles by Tyne O'Connell and all of the characters belong to Lisi Harrison (that was my **disclaimer**), but maybe it has a little bit of my own touch to it. I hope it does. Anyway, if you've read the book here is how the characters match up: Derrick is Sam, Cam is Salah, Massie is Octavia, and Claire is Rosie. I sort of thought it worked out like how the four of them became couples in the second/third Clique books. And if you haven't read it, PLEASE DO. It is such a good story and if you like this at all you will adore the real version, pinky promise! So yeah. Here goes..._

**DERRICK**  
>As usual, no one in Ginnah's fourth period geography class was paying any attention. iPodsPhones were visible throughout the room as she drew a detailed diagram of who-knows-where on the board. The clicking of texts being fired was heard, but of course Ginnah didn't notice. The middle aged super progressive teacher was too concentrated on perfecting her diagram. Bored, I tried to roll my eyes at my best friend Cam to get a laugh out of him, but he was busy staring out the window like the weirdo he is. He is so laid back, and as one of the hottest guys in San Francisco, he always is breaking girls' hearts. Which I don't mind, of course, because then they come running to me.

Sighing, I fiddled with the new camera lens my dad had sent me for my birthday. Though he is never around, he insists that we share a "bond" because we are both into photography. I was about to snap a picture when Ginnah finally turned around; she rolled her eyes at the sight of everyone texting under the desk, but she was used to it.

"Derrick!" Ginnah snapped, and I jerked my head up. "Can you tell me what this picture is of?"

I glanced around the room for help, trying to find someone who could slip me the answer, but everyone had the same clueless expression on their face.

Ginnah sighed, exasperated. "Just guess, at least," she encouraged.

"Uhhhhm, some kind of dragon? Or maybe mountains or something?" I guessed, not caring if I was right.

She sighed again, and then called out, "Cam!"

He snapped his attention away from whatever was out that window, and squinted his eyes at what was on the board. After studying for a bit, he spoke up in his soft, relaxed manner, "that's the Mediterranean Sea. Italy is that boot-looking peninsula." Then he went back to staring out the window. I groaned, he had an advantage, being Greek and having been to the Mediterranean plenty of times.

"Very good, Cam! Now, here's something that might catch your pretty much non-existent attention," Ginnah paused to see if any of us would react, but nobody did. "Our class has been granted special permission to go on a historical cruise tour around the Mediterranean." That did get our attention. Ginnah grinned as the sound of tapping keys stopped and everyone looked up, intrigued. "but that's not all," she continued, and I wondered what could add to a cruise around the Mediterranean. "Students from Octavian Country Day School will be joining us. OCD is a private girls' school in Westchester, NY," she informed us, a grin on her face.

Once again the sound of texts firing was heard, everyone updating their friends, or discussing whether or not the OCD girls would be hott. Ginnah shook her head understandingly, still smiling. "Turn your permission slips in by Friday," she said, patting the stack by the door as the bell rang.

**MASSIE**

It was last period and Mr. Myner was droning on about who knows what, again. I faked a yawn, tapping my hand over my mouth, in an attempt to draw some giggles. And like always, it worked.

"Massie!" He snapped, once again correctly identifying me as the source of disruption.

"Yes, babe?" I turned on the charm and batted my eyelashes. He still scowled, but the anger in his features lessened.

"Could you please stop disrupting my class long enough to let me make this very important announcement, that I think even you will be interested in?"

"Of course, babe" I replied sweetly, and he sighed and returned to his announcement.

"Class, we have a very exciting opportunity in front of us. We are going on a historical cruise around the Mediterranean!" the class erupted in excited whispers. Even I couldn't completely contain my excitement. I locked eyes with my BFF Claire, and we telepathically squealed to each other while keeping up a somewhat composed façade. Claire was beyond excited, I could tell. She adored history, and a beautiful cruise stopping at gorgeous ports around the Mediterranean could spark her creative side and inspire another song.

I think I need to take a second to describe Claire. My best friend is pretty shy around almost everyone, but actually one of the coolest and funniest people I know. She's a stunningly leggy white-blonde, but not in the classic, cookie-cutter way. And yet somehow she's managed to convince herself that she is always in my shadow. I've tried telling her multiple times that it's because she is too wrapped up in her work, not that she isn't beautiful. Guys try to get her attention all the time, but she's always writing some song or another and doesn't give them the time of day. She has this totally casual natural style that I sometimes envy, but I know that I always look amazing in my high-fashion outfits, and I've always appreciated good dressers. Yet it'd be nice to be able to look that good without trying.

"Massie!" Mr. Myner snapped, and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes.

"What is it, babe?" I asked, knowing that he would either get ticked off by my continued sassiness or he would drop the matter and call on someone brighter, like, say, Claire. Luckily for me, he chose the latter.

"Head in the clouds again, Ms. Block?" he asked, partially amused. "I thought the prospect of this trip would manage to hold your attention!" he added before turning to Claire. "Claire, pass out these permission slips, would you?" she nodded, turning her big blue eyes on me excitedly before starting around the room with the forms. I didn't even glance at it before stuffing it in my Louis. Most girls were whispering to their friends or texting their boyfriends at Briarwood. When Claire sat back down I pulled out my iPhone to signal a texting convo, when Mr. Myner busted me again. Somehow he always knows when I should be in trouble.

"Massie, please put your phone away, because there is a second part of this announcement that I'm sure every one of you," he looked pointedly at me, "will have an interest in.

I started to roll my eyes at Claire, tuning him out, but when my eyes where half way around I caught, "students from Hotchkiss Academy, a boys' school in San Francisco, will be joining us on this trip."

My mouth fell open, both out of excitement and worry. Then I allowed myself permission to squeal out loud, despite the fact that it was rather LBRish. Everyone else in the class was doing it, so hey! The bell rang and Claire and I were the last to leave, like always. The second we got out of the school, though, we held hands and jumped up and down, shrieking for a good three minutes before gathering ourselves and climbing into her range rover to head to her estate. I sighed settling into the leather seat, knowing this would be the best school trip ever.

_Thanks for reading! More to come soon. I've got a few chapters written out already so the first few updates should be pretty quick. After that, no promises. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!_

_Hugs, Sky_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone, thanks for reading! In this chapter the guys and girls will meet for the first time. I kind of feel like Claire, Massie, Derrick, and Cam are equally main characters in this story, and hopefully you'll get to know them a bit better in this chapter. Happy reading!  
><em>

**Cam**

We had stepped off the plane in Morocco after at least a six hour flight, wanting to stretch and run around. But no, we got a bumpy, two hour back road drive to the port, just past the Strait of Gibraltar. I actually didn't mind it at all, it was pretty and I watched Derrick snapping away with his camera, so I knew that I'd be able to look back on it. I had spent the drive lost in mindless thought as I watched the scenery and tried to ignore the complaints of my classmates, who really couldn't stand another second of travel. But that held nothing to the sight before us as we scrambled out of the jeeps and stared across the expanse of deep blue. Derrick was snapping away, and I smiled knowing there was someone besides me on this trip that was looking forward to more than just girls. He'd broken up with his longtime girlfriend Kristen Gregory about a month ago, and since then he'd just been hooking up with tons of rebound girls. As much as he acted like they were all he cared about, at home and otherwise, I knew he was deeper than that. I mean, I'd known him since we were two. I could hear Kemp, another one of our friends, discussing what his cousin, who had graduated from OCD the year before, said about the girls there. I wasn't quite listening because that's all they'd talked about the whole way save for complaining about the travel. And I didn't really care. To me they sounded like the shallow, rich girls we had back home at Hotchkiss' sister school, Allymore Prep. According to Derrick, Kemp, Plovert, and everyone else, they were all in love with me, but I wanted something deeper.

The luggage truck pulled up, and we grabbed our bags with Ginnah trying to communicate with our drivers and thank them. Then she hurried us towards the docks.

"You ok?" Derrick asked, coming up beside me.

"Like always," I replied truthfully. Derrick knew me better than anyone, but he still liked to check in when I was being quiet, which was nice. "Just thinking. It's so beautiful here," I added, staring at the beautiful water. He nodded, tapping his camera with one hand and readjusting his grip on his suitcase handle with the other.

There were some wolf whistles from Kemp and a few of the other guys as we saw _The Dreamer_, the boat we would be riding on. It wasn't necessarily as modern-looking as most of the cruise boats at the port, but it was still pretty big, and looked very comfortable. On the top deck there were a bunch of girls in designer bikinis and a few of them came to lean over the edge and look at us when they heard the whistles. I sighed and shook my head, letting all the horny guys rush on board ahead of me to deposit their bags and meet the girls we'd be spending the next two weeks with. Derrick hung back with me, though I knew he was hoping for some kind of romance on this trip.

"Don't feel like you have to wait for me," I said, meaning it.

"Don't even worry about it, C, there are plenty of girls here. Plus, we both know that isn't the most important part of this trip," we both took a minute to laugh as we put down our bags to be taken to our rooms, noticing most of the guys were already up socializing with the girls. "Besides, I know I'm hott enough to get one of them no matter how late we get there," he joked, even though it was pretty true. He got most of the girls back home, and all the ones who weren't going for one night stands. Kemp and this other guy, Dempsey, took care of them nicely.

By the time we'd climbed the stairs to the top deck, everyone was busy chatting. Some of the girls were more forward, standing and flirting by the railings, but others were still in their lounge chairs while the guys were clustered around them. I heard Derrick inhale sharply and followed his gaze to a model-gorgeous brunette that was surrounded by the likes of Danny Robbins and Josh Hotz. You could just see her flirting with everyone and she definitely had the most guys around her. Her bathing suit was very flattering, and there was no denying that she was quite attractive. By now Derrick was practically drooling, and I reluctantly followed him over to the cluster of guys surrounding her. Suddenly I was happy I had because in the chair next to her was a very cute blonde girl who was humming to herself and writing in a worn out notebook, and completely ignoring all the guys. I tried to think of the best way to approach her; she seemed so wrapped up in what she was writing. But I had a feeling that if I was going to get into any type of relationship in the next two weeks, it would be with her.

**CLAIRE**

I had been working on my latest song, trying to find the right words for the tune I'd fallen in love with, when I heard a bunch of wolf whistles and cat calls from somewhere nearby. I rolled my eyes behind my oversized Gucci shades, and went back to working on my song. Massie jabbed my side a few moments later, though, and casually nodded at the big group of guys that had started filling the top deck. The first, most eager of them made the perfect choice by heading to chat it up with Libby and Alexandra, who were known for being easy. And, as expected, most of the guys came and flocked around Massie.

"H-hey," a cute red-head stuttered slightly, causing Massie to sit up a little and slowly remove her oversized Chanel shades.

"And who have we here?" Massie asked, eying the group of guys, even though I knew she had been waiting for this since we heard the Hotchkiss boys would be on the cruise with us. I mean, she'd only asked me about a billion times if I thought they'd be cute, if I'd finally let her set me up with a guy, and once again, if they would be cute. Judging by the smirk on her face, I think she was more than satisfied with the selection.

"I'm Danny," the red head said, and the rest, maybe there were about nine, each introduced themselves.

"Well, I'm Massie, and this is Claire," she said, and I could feel her glare urging me to say something.

"Hey guys," I offered a smile and a little wave, but I could tell that they were all into Massie, like always. And like always, by the look of the group, I wouldn't mind. Massie always tried to set me up with her sloppy seconds, but the truth was I wouldn't even go for the guys she wanted. None of the guys in Westchester were deeper than a kiddie pool. I know I'm high shooter, but in guys I'm looking for close to perfection.

I heard Massie giggle extra loud at something one of the guys, Plovert, had said. I looked up wondering why she wanted the extra attention and instantly regretted my earlier thoughts. Because there, just reaching the top of the ramp that led to the deck was one of the most gorgeous guys I had ever seen. He looked super laid back, and he slightly rolled his eyes when he saw his classmates falling all over girls like they'd never seen them before. The problem was that an elbow and a very subtle head nod disguised as more laughter from Massie alerted me to the fact that she'd just laid her claim. I mentally kicked myself, hating myself for thinking too soon.

I went back to working on my song, forcing myself not to look at him; knowing if I did I would fall harder. I was going to stay a good friend to Massie; why blow our superclose friendship on a guy? Not to mention the fact that he would never in a million years pick me over her. Why would he? She was the gorgeous, charming, popular one of us. I was just lucky enough to be along for the ride.

**MASSIE**

All the guys around me were super cute, but the second I saw the guy in the polo and khakis climbing the stairs, I knew he was the one. I'd always had a thing for well dressed guys, and this was a HOTT well dressed guy. I managed to call dibs while still acting like I was interested in Plovert's story, even though my focus had totally shifted. I was thrilled when I saw him and his cute friend make their way in my direction. Yea, it was pretty clear he was coming because his friend was, but I figured it wouldn't be too hard to win him over. Since when did I have trouble with guys?

"And who's this darling boy?" I asked flirtatiously when Polo Hottie's Golden Retriever-like friend approached.

"Hey, I'm Derrick," He offered with a winning smile, in a way that seemed confident to the untrained eye. However I could tell that he was a little nervous at least and I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. With such a gorgeous best friend, he probably always ended up with the sad fate of second best. If he was lucky, I could convince Claire to let me set her up with him. I said something witty to make the guys think I was still interested before allowing myself to subtly check out my new love interest. He looked as if he was trying to figure out a way to strike up conversation with Claire, which I thought was sweet. However there would be plenty of time for making sure my best friend didn't feel left out once Polo boy knew he was mine.

"And what's wrong with you, Ralph Lauren? Cat got your tongue?" I asked at a break in the conversation, causing him to blush.

"That's just Cam," a guy named Josh said, as Cam looked back at Claire once more before coming to join our little circle.

"I can introduce myself, thanks," he said, punching Josh's shoulder. Good sign. "Hey. I'm Cam. What's goin on." He only sounded semi interested, so I sent him a flirtatious smile.

"Just chatting with these fine gentlemen, care to join?" I asked, and he shrugged. Derrick stepped in and saved me from an awkward moment by asking about our school, so I turned to answer. He seemed like a sweet guy, I would have to be sure to let him get Claire, and put more effort into securing Cam later.

**DERRICK**

She was gorgeous. She wasn't just "hott", "fine" or any other adjective a horny guy would use to describe an attractive girl; she was truly beautiful. Not to say her barely there bathing suit didn't help. Pulling Cam along, I headed over to where Josh, Plovert, Danny, and some other guys had already started chatting with her. When I finally reached their circle, she gave me a winning smile and called me a "darling boy", which made me smile. She was a charmer. I gave her what I hoped seemed like a confident and relaxed introduction, because I sure as hell was nervous. She said something cute to Plovert, and then giggled at something Josh said. Then she dragged Cam into the conversation. It all happened so fast that I didn't know if it was all flirty or all friendly. But when I asked her about school when Cam gave me the chance to step in and be an "awkward moment saver", she gave me another smile that just made me reallyreallyreally hope that meant she liked me. I thought back to what I had said earlier. I was definitely attractive enough to land one of the girls on this trip. But suddenly, that didn't seem like enough. Maybe I wanted more than just another hookup. There was one girl I had my sights on, and she was sitting right in front of me.

**CLAIRE**

_Cam,_ I thought, liking the sound of his name as I heard him being introduced. I heard Massie laugh at something he said and did everything in my power to tune him and their conversation out. _Why, WHY did you have to be on this trip?_

**MASSIE**

"So, Claire, Derrick was cute, don't you think?" I asked as we got ready for orientation in the room we shared. He was super sweet and definitely easy on the eyes. I figured that he deserved to be set up with someone as great as Claire.

"Sorry, which one was he?" she asked, zipping up the white jean shorts she'd paired with a subtly sequined silk top. I rolled my eyes, making sure she didn't see, before answering.

"The one that looks like a golden retriever, complete with brown puppy-dog eyes and all," I reminded her, "total HART."

"Oh, I thought you liked polo boy," she replied, something in her voice I couldn't quite place. Apprehension? Hope?

"Yea, that's Cam. He's definitely still my target for this trip. I'm talking about for _you_," I explained. "Derrick is Cam's best friend, and I have the feeling he's always left with second best because Cam is so gorgeous," I paused, sighing a little, "I know you don't like it when I try to set you up, but he's a sweetheart and I think you'll really like him!"

Claire was now brushing her long, perfectly shiny hair, but stopped long enough to shrug. "I'll look out for him," she said noncommittally before continuing to brush.

I swiped on lip-gloss and smoothed the wrinkles out of the new BCBG dress I'd gotten as a comp from my latest modeling job, before grabbing my key to our room.

"Ready?" I asked, and Claire put down her brush, took a quick look in the mirror, and grabbed her own key.

"Ready. Rate me?" she replied with a smile, evaporating the slightly awkward feel the room had had during our conversation just moments before.

"9.6. A swipe of gloss and you're 9.8" I grinned back. "And me?"

"9.8, as always," she replied with a flip of her hair, and we headed out the door.

_So, hopefully you guys enjoyed this! Quick remeinder: neither the plot or characters belong to me. Have a very smile-y day!_

_Hugs, Skye_


	3. Chapter 3

_So I really appreciate how many people have read this story already! I hope everyone is enjoying it. Remember: basically none of this is mine._

**Cam**

We were told to meet in the dining room at 5:00, so Derrick and I decided to tour the ship after the girls had all left to change out of their bathing suits. Most of the guys stayed on deck to fill out Kemp's ranking chart. Basically, you choose the girl you'd most like to hook up with, and give her a 10. Then you put down 9 other girls in order of preference. That way, you know who you are up against when trying to get with a girl. There is the no-hard-feelings policy—you know ahead of time who might get the girl instead of you, and we all have been together as a class since kindergarten and are like brothers, so we'd never let a girl mess up the friendships. Kemp created the chart in sixth grade, and on every trip since them the whole class filled it out. Except me. I like girls, don't get me wrong, but I'm not going to rate who I want to hook up with. Because if I like a girl, I will try to hook up with her. I'm just not about to do it just because a lot of them are hott.

After checking out our room (standard—two beds, two dressers, a table, a bathroom and a closet), we wandered all the hallways and decks of the ship. There was a skinny ladder up to a small, circular upper deck, and it was cool to sit up there and wait for orientation.

"So, Cam, what did you think of Massie?" Derrick asked me as we sat in the breeze, watching the other guys milling around on the main deck below, an occasional shout or playful shove coming from them.

"Mmmmm…" I thought about it as the boat rocked slightly, "She's undeniably gorgeous," I offered, and he nodded. "She seems at least a bit more complex than the girls back home, but maybe sort of in that way where she'll play head games? Like she likes attention from a lot of guys so maybe she'll not commit or something," I glanced over, and he was nodding, seriously considering my analysis like always. But he did appear disappointed. "She did seem to take a liking to you," I added truthfully, remembering how she focused on him when talking about her school and only talking to the other guys when they asked questions.

"Oh hey, I think it's time to go," Derrick spoke up, pointing to the guys heading inside. At the same time, the ship's horn sounded, and we started to pull away from the dock. We stood up in the cramped space and climbed down the ladder to join our classmates in hearing about the trip.

**DERRICK**

The dining room was the one place we hadn't stopped to look at because we knew we'd be in there soon anyway. The boat was stocked; it had an arcade room, multiple lounges, and a pool. The dining room had two long tables running down the middle of it, and booth tables lining the perimeter. The two tables were full, pretty segregated with boys down one side and girls filling the other. Cam and I slid in to a booth, hearing the chatter of our classmates as they waited for the teachers to start. A quick scan of the table concluded Massie wasn't there, so I turned to Cam, who sat opposite me. He seemed to be scanning the room for someone as well, but when he noticed me watching him with raised eyebrows, he just shrugged. The teachers rang a bell to get our attention but before they could start, Massie and her blond friend Clara who I'd barely noticed before walked in giggling about something. Dressed slightly fancily (I had just realized the rest of the girls in the room were as well), Clara was definitely cute but Massie was beyond breathtaking. I was glad that the tables were filled, because after realizing as much, they came over to sit with us. I was disappointed when Massie slid in next to Cam, but having her across from me was almost as good as next to. She leaned in like she was about to spill a secret, and I was all ears until we heard a throat clear.

"Excuse me girls, we're about to start orientation. It is one thing to walk in late, but please at least pretend to pay attention so the rest of the students can learn what this trip is all about," a male teacher stood above the table, glaring at Clara and Massie, but mostly Massie. I sort of had the feeling that she might be the type to walk into class late and be disruptive.

"Myner, babe, relax. My greatest apology for our tardiness, and of course we'd love to hear your babble about what is in store for us this trip," Massie spoke sweetly and batted her eyelashes at him, causing Cam and I to raise our eyebrows. Clara looked my way and rolled her eyes.

"Just keep quiet, and don't distract these guys," Myner replied, slightly amused, and returned to the front of the room.

Massie giggled at his retreating form, making me wonder if she was into older men, when Clara spoke up.

"That's just Mass. She's got all the teachers wrapped around her little finger. It's pretty convenient most of the time," she told me in a soft voice, and Massie looked over at her with a grin. I couldn't read Cam's expression, but Massie mostly just looked smug.

"Welcome aboard _The Dreamer_!" Ginnah announced to the group, and everyone cheered. "This trip is designed to be educational," we all rolled our eyes, "but we plan to have as much fun as possible, okay?" Kemp let out a wolf whistle. "You all need to be on your best behavior, especially when we are visiting historical sites," she warned, sending a look in Kemp's direction, "But we'll definitely take time to relax in ports and such. This is our tour guide for Spain, Senor Sanchez. If you have any questions about his glorious country, feel free to ask him after orientation. We will be stopping in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Libya, and Algeria before returning to Morocco," she explained.

Ginnah continued on with the rules of the boat (no boys staying in girls' rooms, curfew at 11:00, be respectful to the crew, etc) before introducing the rest of the chaperons/teachers. There was Mr. Gelt, our history teacher Mr. Myner, the geography teacher at OCD who Massie had "wrapped around her little finger" as Clara put it, and Ms. Lyle, their history teacher.

Then they handed out schedules for the first two days and let us talk about it amongst ourselves until dinner was ready.

"Why do you call your geography teacher by her first name?" Massie asked, crinkling her nose. Cam just shrugged.

"I dunno, she's super progressive and always telling us we should all be equals," I tried to explain, though I wasn't 100% sure myself.

We got our schedules last, and I was eager to see it after hearing the excited chatter from everyone at the long tables. It looked like this:

_**The Dreamer**_  
>Day 1<br>2:00-5:00: Arrive, Unpack, Settle in, free time  
>5:00: Orientation in the Dining Room<br>6:00: Dinner  
>7:00: Free time<br>9:00: Welcome Fiesta in the Green Lounge  
>11:00: Sweet Dreams! (tomorrow: Valencia!)<p>

Day 2  
>9:00: Wake up! (bell will ring)<br>9:30: Breakfast  
>10:00: Tour La Catedral, El Miguelete and Plaza de la Virgen<br>12:00: Plaza del Mercado (please buy lunch!)  
>1:00: Jardin Botanico<br>2:30: Tour any other areas of interest; beach time  
>6:00: board back on ship for dinner<br>9:00: Charades in the conference room (boys v. girls!)  
>11:00: Sweet Dreams! (tomorrow: Barcelona!)<p>

"Ooooh, a fiesta!" Massie squealed. "Alicia is probably jumping up and down with excitement, to be heading to Spain!" Clara nodded, plugging her headphones into her ears and tuning the rest of us out. Massie looked at her pointedly, then rolled her eyes and turned to Cam. "What are you most excited about?" Cam just shrugged.

"I'm pretty excited about the fiesta too," I shot her a smile, and she smiled back before glaring at Clara once more. "Also for just seeing Valencia, I mean there are so many museums to check out and cathedrals to photograph," I added, realizing she thought I was just agreeing with her to be nice. She perked up hearing this, and we got into a conversation about photography.

I noticed Cam was checking out Clara without wanting to seem like he was, which made me grin to myself. "Hey, what are you listening to?" He asked eventually, but apparently she didn't hear.

"Oh, she's listening to one of her songs. She's the incredibly brilliant singer/songwriter type," Massie stopped our conversation to answer Cam with a bat of her eyelashes. He ignored the flirtation and continued to look at Clara with admiration.

"Think she'd let me listen?" He asked, finally turning to Massie.

"She normally very shy about sharing her music, but you could try," She replied with a winning smile. I wished it was aimed at me, and thought back to what Cam had said about head games. But I also knew she wasn't his type, so I wouldn't have to worry about him falling for her charms. Still, I didn't need to look at one of Kemp's charts to know she probably was rated 10 by most of the other guys. "Hey Claire, can Cam here get a listen to the song you're working on?" Massie asked. Oops. I guess I've been getting her name wrong. "Not the one you just started, the other one."

"OW!" Claire yelped, and I guess Massie kicked her under the table. Cam looked at Claire expectantly. She took one of her ear buds out, but didn't place it in Cam's hand. "It… I mean it's not that good. It's missing a lot…"

"Oh shut it Claire and let him listen," Massie said playfully.

Claire still hesitated, so Cam took the ear bud out of her grasp and asked "May I?" Claire just nodded. I watch Cam listen, seriously listening to her music, before restarting my conversation with Massie.

"So, you were saying you model?"

**CLAIRE**

Let's face it: I will always be jealous of Massie Block. There. I said it. But I mean, c'mon. She's model gorgeous and all the guys go for her. She can get away with anything with the teachers, even calling them "babe". She has a family name to get her anything she wants, but she doesn't even use it because she's such a charmer. And she makes it impossible to stay mad at or hold a grudge against her.

I was frustrated because as much as Cam totally gave me butterflies just looking at him, Massie had laid her claim. It bothered me that she felt bad for Derrick and wanted to make him happy by setting him up with _me_, because we were both always second best. But I knew she had good intentions, and wanted me to be happy. Still, it sucked to always be in her shadow.

I actually held my breath as I watched Cam listen to my almost-completed song Teardrops on My Guitar. I labeled it done a little while ago, but I couldn't help feeling like it ended too abruptly. As much as I knew Massie was trying to sing my praises and get Derrick to be impressed by me, I was only partly a singer/songwriter, because none of my songs have been introduced to the public, and I am only completely satisfied with two of them. The rest are pretty good, but something was missing.

He looked completely focused on listening the whole entire time, staring off into space with a look of concentration on his face. Earlier I almost could have sworn he was looking at me, when I was listening before, but that's impossible. Especially with Massie right there and available. Still I studied his perfect face, and wished Massie hadn't claimed him. Finally the song ended and he took out the ear bud, smiling.

"That was good! Sad, you know, but really good. You have an amazing voice. Where do you get your inspiration for songs?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"Oh, you know, movies and stuff," I replied hastily. I was not about to tell him that it was because all the guys I like go for Massie. He seemed the type that might pity me and then start being nice because he didn't want to hurt my feelings. Plus I didn't want him to think of me as whiney. "But did you actually like it, or are you just saying that? I mean, it's kind of cliché, and—"

"Yes, I really did like it, especially how you repeated the first line slower at the end. Nice touch," He grinned, handing the ear bud back. The bell rang for dinner, and I got up slowly so that Derrick could get out, but I was still in shock. I _hadn't _done the repeat line at the end, and yet that would be the perfect way to wrap up the song. My mouth dropped open a little, and Cam just chuckled.

Massie linked arms with both boys and pulled them to the front of the line. Cam looked back at me. "Hey, aren't you coming?" he asked, as Massie led the way to the front of the line for the buffet. I shook my head slowly, and turned to go fix the end of my song on garage band before I forgot.

As I was leaving the dining hall, I heard Massie say, "don't worry, babe. Claire gets really wrapped up in her songwriting, and if she gets an idea, you might not be able to successfully communicate with her for days!" I sighed, knowing she was right, but wishing she hadn't said it like that.

**Cam**

"She's just so cool," Derrick was going on about Massie again, "and did you know she's a model?" I shook my head, watching the waves. We were on the main deck, and most people were in their rooms or still eating. "I dunno, it seemed she was equally flirting with both of us, though…" he shot me a sideways glance.

"Go for it, dude," I answered. "She's not my type."

"You sure? You did say she was more complex than SF girls," Derrick and I strictly obey bros before hos, and once decided that if we both like a girl, neither of us get her.

"Definitely, man. She's gorgeous, but definitely not what I go for," I assured him, Thinking of Claire's sweet shy smile and her expression of concentration when she's songwriting, like the very first moment I saw her. Even if there had been no words, her voice was so full of emotion. I loved that she had such a connection with her music. _That's the kind of girl I go for,_ I thought to myself. I had a feeling that Derrick suspected my crush, but I wasn't about to confirm it yet. Some things are better to keep for yourself.

**MASSIE**

"Claire! Code red" I burst into our room, pulling her away from her computer where she was changing whatever Cam had suggested. "I think you need to work harder to woo Derrick. You did fine at the beginning of dinner, but then you got lost in your music again." She looked up from her computer, shutting it so that it went to sleep.

"Why the urgency, Mass?" she asked tiredly.

"Be-cawse, when I was coming down from dinner, I heard Cam and Derrick talking. Cam is backing off me because Derrick asked him for the green light! Pleaseee work on Derrick for me? Or, I know, just let Cam know I really do like him. He probably let Derrick go for me because he didn't know if I liked him. I have been flirting with everyone, so maybe he took that the wrong way." Claire looked hesitant, and I reminded her, "Claire, I have helped you out tons of times when getting guys. Please do this one favor for me? Pleaseeeee?"

It's true. Even if sometimes the help wasn't requested, or even appreciated, I always did my best to set her up with guys. And I had promised to get her with Derrick, hadn't I? I was impressed that she even took the initiative to whisper to him during dinner even if… oh.

"And I'm sure Derrick likes you back, but he was probably not sure what to think when you didn't join us for dinner," I added hastily. She nodded, but not like she was convinced. "Please, Claire, either assure Derrick you're into him, or clear things up for me with Cam?" I asked, giving my best puppy-dog pout, which she fell for, as always.

"Fine, I'll see what I can do," she sighed. All of a sudden our door bust open and our friends Alicia and Dylan walked in.

"Hey guys, Josh and Plovert are stopping by our room soon before the fiesta, if you want to join," Dylan announced.

"Yea, I swiped some of my dad's wine. And the boys are coming from the pool, so they'll just be in their suits," Alicia added significantly. Claire and I looked at each other before both jumping off our beds and grabbing our keys.

"Let's go!" I exclaimed, leading the way.

_Here we go... Massie working her magic (read: manipulation) to get her man (although she does truly have the best intentions), a bit of alcohol, and voila! The next chapter will be a bit more eventful. _

_Have a truly spectacular Sunday!_

_Hugs, Sky  
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	4. Chapter 4

_Things are about to get a bit more complicated, so watch out! I guess this is very much a midsummer night's dream-esque story. Enjoy!_

**Cam**

I couldn't get Claire out of my head. It wasn't just the song, even though I truly meant every word of praise I said. It was the way her bangs framed her face, her sweet smile, and the fact that she clearly cared about more than fashion, make up, and status. My only worry was that she seemed to pay more attention to Derrick during dinner until I listened to her song. I didn't want her to feel like she owed it to me to be nice just because she liked an idea that came to me in a rare moment of musical brilliance. Because honestly, I know nothing about music at all. Still, this was the first girl in at least a year that I truly felt a connection to. I pass most of the cookie-cutter San Francisco blondes on to Derrick, which he appreciates greatly, but even from knowing her for less than five hours, I knew she was the kind of girl I genuinely wanted to get to know.

I smiled as she and Massie arrived in the green lounge, arms linked and laughing. With them were Josh and Plovert, who each had a girl on their arm. The dim lights and the distance allowed me to stare without being obvious.

"Target acquired," Derrick said cheesily, getting up to talk to Massie. A lot of the kids were already on the dance floor, some pairing up to learn different Spanish dances that the staff was teaching. Seeing my chance, I followed behind Derrick over to the group that just arrived. He had his arm around Massie, and she was really giggly but seemed to have a little trouble standing. I figured she was drunk. Josh and Plovert pulled their girls onto the dance floor as well, and Claire scanned the room awkwardly. "Care to dance?" I asked her from the side, and she turned quickly, almost knocking me backwards.

"Oh, it's you," she said, and I couldn't tell if that was disappointment or relief. She bit her lip in an unbearably cute way before taking my outstretched hand. I gave Derrick a thumbs up as he led Massie past us out to the deck.

I heard her slur something like "good idea, Claire," as they passed, but I pushed it to the back of my head, turning back to the beautiful girl whose small hand was resting lightly and unsurely in mine.

"Come on," I led her to the center of the dance floor. The lighting was low, but her hair still shone brightly. I would have reached out to stroke it if I didn't want to let go of her hand.

"I, well," she started, looking up at me directly for the first time that night, "I'm not a very good dancer. At least, well, I haven't had much experience and I'm…" I spun her around, causing her to stop protesting. Following the directions one of the staff members was calling out, I pulled her closer and started moving us to the complex Spanish music blasting from the speakers.

I don't know what Claire was talking about when she said she couldn't dance, because she moved like a natural. Though she was a bit hesitant at first, it didn't take her long to let loose and move to the music. I guess her musical talents must've given her a good sense of rhythm, because she was right on target, even with some of the more complex steps. I couldn't resist pulling her in a bit closer, but I felt her stiffen and eased up a little, still closer than before.

"You're good," I leaned down and whispered in her ear, but before she could respond, the song ended and they switched to some of the Spanish-American rap. All the horny jocks let out whoops and suddenly we were trapped in a crowd of grinders. Claire had a semi-horrified look on her face.

"Wanna go somewhere quieter?" I asked over the noise. My head was still bent by her ear, because her hair smelled so good. She nodded lightly, and I started to lead the way out of the gyrating mess. We finally made it out, and sat on the same couch I was on when I watched her come in the room. I heard her sigh as she sank back, and I slipped my arm around her. I felt glad to be out of the suffocating mess that was on the dance floor and could only be glad the jocks hadn't gotten their hands on whatever Massie had been drinking.

"So…" she said awkwardly. I am not one to let awkward silences play out.

"How's that song coming?" I asked, angling my body in to face her.

"It's coming along well. That ending you suggested works really nicely. It's sort of standard technique, I don't really know why I didn't think of it. I mean I've used it before and all…" she trailed off, and I could almost feel her slipping into music world again.

"Sometimes it takes an outside ear that's hearing it for the first time. Can I hear a song you've finished?" I asked, and then quickly rushed to add, "only if it's ok. I mean, I don't have to."

"No, it's ok," she replied with a soft smile. "Massie's the only one who's really heard my music, and it's nice to have another opinion," she assured me, pulling out her iPod. It was still kind of loud in the lounge, so I pulled her up, startling her. "Let's go somewhere quieter," I suggested, and she nodded. I led her out onto the deck and up the ladder Derrick and I had discovered earlier. I let her go up first, and she looked back at me uncertainly.

"This ladder is awfully skinny," she said apprehensively. "It's ok. I went up earlier. If it can handle my weight, it can definitely handle yours," I assured her. She shrugged and continued the way up. At the top, she sat and let her legs dangle over the edge of the little platform, under the railing. Resting back on her elbows, she looked like a goddess bathed in the light of the full moon above. My breath caught in my throat a little, but I pulled myself up on the platform with her and looked up at the stars.

"It seems a little sacrilegious to whip out the iPod on such a clear, beautiful night," I decided, looking up at the stars. She nodded. I knew quite a bit about astronomy, and briefly made a mental note to show her some constellations later. "Do you think, well, you don't have to, but do you think you could sing part of a song for me?" I knew that was sort of stretching it, and I was fully prepared for her to say no. He mouth hung open a little at the prospect, and suddenly all I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss her perfect lips out here under the stars. She looked so cute like that.

"Um, ok. But two conditions," she agreed finally. I tilted my head to the side, waiting for her to go on. "You have to close your eyes," she blushed, "and you have to be 100% honest in your criticism at the end."

"Deal," I grinned at her full on and made a show of squeezing my eyes closed tightly. Soon enough I heard the same sweet voice I'd heard earlier, only this time it was both soulful and sweet, and so much more real.

"Yea when my world is falling apart, when there's no light to break up the dark, that's when I, I, I look at you. When the waves are flooding the shore, and I can't find my way home anymore, that's when I, I, I look at you." Her voice stopped, and I missed it.

"That was beautiful," I said, slowly opening my eyes. She was looking up at me, biting her lip.

"You promised you'd be honest," she looked at me warningly.

"I am being totally honest," I looked right back into her aqua blue eyes. She looked away shyly and tucked her hair behind her ears. I wished I'd had the courage to do it for her. "How about another one?" I asked, and she turned back to look at me. "Too pushy?" I asked quickly, not able to read the look on her face.

"No, no, it's just, no one besides Massie has ever cared enough to take this much interest in my music." She looked grateful. "She cocked her head to the side, thinking. Then she turned back to me. "Close your eyes," She said.

I followed her directions, and soon enough, her emotion-filled voice sang out softly, "According to you, I'm stupid, I'm useless, I can't do anything right. According to you I'm difficult, hard to please, forever changing my mind. I'm a mess in a dress, can't show up on time, even if it would save my life according to you, according to you." As she sang, I couldn't help wondering what guy would be dense enough to oversee her charms. "But according to him, I'm beautiful, incredible; he can't get me out of his head. According to him, I'm funny, irresistible, everything he ever wanted. Everything is opposite. I don't feel like stopping it, so baby, tell me what I got to lose. He's into me for everything I'm not, according to you." Her voice sounded so sincere and pure, which was great, but I was starting to get worried that she had a boyfriend in New York.

**CLAIRE**

I really liked singing for Cam. His eyes were closed, and a small smile played across his lips from time to time. He listened, and he genuinely seemed impressed with my music. He was one of only a few that even knew I had such a talent. I finished singing "According to You," a piece I'd written a year ago after dumping my boyfriend at the time, Griffin Hastings. There was no other guy, but I always wished there had been.

"So, are those two songs about the same guy?" I looked up and Cam was waiting for my answer, head tilted to the side.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, confused. I'd fully heard what he said, but I didn't understand what he meant. A guy that is comforting really doesn't sound like one that thinks you're useless…

"You know, the one that appreciates you, and the one that you look to when you're sad," he clarified with a smile that looked like it was supposed to make light of the situation but didn't really. "Is he your boyfriend?"

I let out a laugh. "No, the first one was inspired by my little brother, Todd. He manages to make the best of any situation, and has helped me through some tough times. Even if it comes with a price," I giggled, remembering how I had to do his laundry for a month when he somehow managed to hide my semisecret relationship with Griffin. But then I remembered how he comforted me when I broke up with him; it was those kinds of moments the song was truly about.

"The second one, well, I'd rather not talk about that…" I trailed off. Cam really didn't want to sit there and listen to my past relationship problems. Wait, relationship problems… Cam… Massie… "Hey, _you _don't have a girlfriend, do you?" I asked, and he tilted his head sideways and shook no. "Oh good," I stated, blushing under his intense gaze. His lips turned up at my reaction, so I looked away.

"Massie wants you to know she likes you," I continued, "but she overheard you telling Derrick to go for her. So she wanted to make it clear that she was just being overly flirty because it's our first day, and she really, really likes you." I bit my lip before checking his reaction. He looked a little startled.

"Wow, yea, I can see how that would be disappointing," he said, and I was completely confused.

"Huh?"

"Hearing that the person you like isn't into you. That can't feel good," he clarified, and my mouth fell open at the implication.

"Everyone likes Massie," I started, confused. "She's gorgeous, confident, popular, funny, and cool. I don't think I follow—"

"Not _everyone _likes Massie," he cut me off, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, "for example, I think you are a lot sweeter than she is. You're really talented, and beautiful too."

I couldn't look at him after he said that. What was he saying, that he liked me? I wished for the bajillionth time that Massie hadn't claimed him. I really couldn't do that to her. I shook my head slowly, still looking down and out at the dark ocean illuminated by the moon and the stars.

After an awkward period of me not responding and him looking at me (I could feel his gaze, it was that strong, believe me), he finally relieved some of the tension by pointing to the sky.

"See the three stars in a line right there? That's Orion's Belt." I got lost in his knowledge of the stars and willed myself not to think about his hand guiding my finger to point out every constellation.

**DERRICK**

Massie was a bit drunk, but not any less the girl of my dreams. I thought back to how Cam always teased me that every superficial blonde that I dated was exactly the same, and now, knowing Massie, I had to agree. I opened the door to a closet, checking to see if she was in there. I had agreed to play hide and seek, and we had switched off hiding and seeking. It suddenly occurred to me though that I'd been around all the decks and hadn't found her again.

I climbed the stairs to the top deck where there was a door to the green room, the last place I hadn't yet checked. When I reached the top of the stairs, I heard the murmuring of Cam's distinctive soft voice and looked up to see him and Claire on the little lookout spot we'd found earlier. I guessed he was showing her the stars. Seeing him making progress with a girl he seemed to actually like, even if she was blonde, made me happy for him. At home, he never goes for any of the girls who are as cute as Claire. Well, actually he doesn't really go for anyone, just because the types of girls he looks for just don't exist in our town.

I peered through the door of the green lounge and didn't see Massie anywhere. In fact, I hadn't seen her for maybe fifteen minutes, and really had searched everywhere.

I hated to do this, but I saw no other option. It would be really bad to have her stumbling around the boat if she was a bit drunk. I headed back out to stand under the lookout towery spot.

"Hey, guys?" I called up softly. Claire's head quickly appeared above the railing. Cam's followed much more slowly, and his expression showed that he wasn't too happy with me.

"What's going on, Derrick?" Claire asked down, sounding, was that relief?

"Erm," I started. If it was relief, it'd be gone in a second. "I seem to have lost Massie."

"WHAT?" Claire exclaimed, standing up quickly. "Cam, move!" In a second Claire was down the ladder and leaning on my shoulder for support while she wheezed a little. "What?" she asked, a bit softer this time.

"Um, well, we were playing hide and seek, and I found her and then she found me so now it's my turn again and… I can't find her. I looked everywhere!" I threw up my hands.

"Don't worry man, we'll help look," Cam had come down much more slowly.

"Thanks so much," I replied, relieved. "It's just I don't want the teacher to find out and her to get in trouble."

"You guys have cellphones, yea?" Claire asked, waving a rhinestone covered Motorola. We nodded. "Ok, I'm fairly sure Massie left hers in her dorm. I sent her a text in case, but even if she has her phone she might not be with it enough to respond." She quickly told us her number, and we told her ours. "Ok," she said, all businesslike, "call or text if you find her. I'll grab this deck, Derrick go one below, and Cam take the bottom floor."

"Aye aye, Captain!" I saluted, and she glared.

"Just go!"

_You owe me!_ Cam mouthed angrily before we went our separate ways.

I followed her orders, walking down the first flight of stairs to the deck where the teachers' cabins were and two of the lounges. I checked in the lounges much more thoroughly than I had before, even checking behind some of the couches. The pool room was locked with the lights off, as were the teachers' rooms. I looked in a couple of broom closets and all of the little hallways. Not finding her, I slowly made my way back to where I started. Claire was just reaching the landing when I arrived at the stairs.

"I didn't find her up there. She's definitely not in the green lounge," she let out a shudder and I laughed, "and she's not in the dining hall or rec room."

"No luck here either," I replied. "Wanna go check on Cam?" I asked, because I wanted to find Massie, but also to see Claire's reaction to his name.

She shrugged, "Sure. I can check our room, it was probably locked when you were looking earlier."

I nodded. She was right, but I got no insight to her feelings for Cam. We descended the stairs into the lowest level we were allowed on.

"Massie?" Claire called out semi tentatively. Hearing no response, she turned to me. "Our room is this way," she said, grabbing my hand and leading me to the room they shared.

She turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door.

"Mass, you in here?" There was still no response, so Claire peeked in the bathroom, then the closet. "Out we go," she said, shooing me out and locking the door. "Where should we look next?"

"Maybe we can find Cam and see where he's looked already," I suggested, and she looked surprised before smiling at me.

"Good call, Derrick. Lead the way!"

We wandered around laughing as we went, looking in different corners and imagining scenarios in which Massie would have ended up in each place. With every closet and corner we looked in, it became clearer to me how the color of Claire's hair did not come close to making her like the girls at home. I could see that she was really good for Cam.

We talked about past relationships, and she told me about some guy named Griffin who cheated on her once and was horrible to her, while I opened up about Kristen and how hard it had been for me to let her go when she moved. Then I tried to get her to spill a bit about Massie, who I just _had_ to know more about.

"She doesn't always get so drunk at home," she was explaining to me as we turned yet another corner. "Alicia's dad has this he-yuge old wine cellar and sometimes we swipe from it, but not always so much. I don't even know if she's that drunk. We play hide and seek sober all the time, Mass is just fun and crazy like that. So yea anyway, I hope she wasn't that drunk because I don't want her to—"

Claire stopped and got really quiet. I looked up to see Massie and Cam making out on a couch behind a plant in a little alcove. My reaction went like this: surprised, horrified, upset, angry. I saw Claire just standing there with her mouth hanging open, all the hurt in the world written across her face. My last thought before I turned and stormed away was that at least now I knew how Claire felt about Cam.

_Hope you liked it. Next chapter Cam will explain himself a bit... _

_Happy Memorial Day!  
><em>

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys! Thanks so much for the feedback for the last chapter. Just to clear things up, this will NOT be a Cassie. As I've mentioned, I'm strictly following a pre-written story line here (True Love, the Shinx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles), so I can't really just turn around and change who they end up with. Well actually I suppose I could but I'm not going to. Sorry to disappoint, Cassie fans. Anyway, here is chapter five. Sorry its a bit shorter than some of the other ones._

**Cam**

_STUPID! _ I felt like banging my head against the wall. I shouldn't have given in when Massie said she wanted to talk somewhere private. I'd found her lying on the shaggy rug in an unlocked room within the first ten minutes of searching, much more sober than the last time I'd seen her.

"_Cam? Is that you?" She'd asked, looking at me upside down. _

"_Yea. Come on, get up. Derrick, Claire and I have been looking for you for a while."_

"_Really? You've been looking for me?"_

"_Uh huh, Derrick got worried when he couldn't find you, so he asked for our help."_

"_AW! That's so considerate. Help me up, would you? Thanks. Hey, do you wanna find somewhere to talk?"_

"_Talk?"_

"_Yea, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while."_

"_Uhm… I don't know. I promised Claire I'd call her if I found you. She's so worried about you."_

"_Claire is too sweet. Trust me, I'm fine, and she'll be down soon anyway. Not to mention, it's her I wanted to talk about. Why don't we sit on that couch? See the one by the plant?"_

"_You mean behind the plant?"_

"_Yea."_

"_We really should head up and find the others."_

"_Oh, what are you scared of. They'll be down any minute. C'mere."_

She'd plopped down on the couch and I'd followed reluctantly. Then she went on to tell me that she didn't want me to go up and find them because she thought Derrick was really a great guy and hoped to set him up with Claire. Massie made it clear that she liked someone *wink wink*, but had been wanting to get Claire a deserving boyfriend for a while. As she spoke, I was torn between telling her she was a good friend to care about their happiness and telling her that I liked Claire, I was fairly sure Claire liked me, and that Derrick was crazy about her.

"_You're a good friend for thinking of their happiness," I blurted, then almost slapped my forehead. I had decided to tell her that I didn't like her plan!_

"_You think so?" she tilted her head to the left and grinned. I nodded, not knowing how else to respond. Before I knew it she leaned in and attached her lips to mine. _

"_mrmmmrmrmmm" I mumbled, trying to pull away. This was really awkward. I did not want to be kissing Massie and I can honestly say I didn't feel anything. I mean, she's definitely pretty, but for me there's nothing there. I kept trying to pull away, but I didn't want to hurt her and she had me in a really awkward position. _

_I definitely should have tried harder though, because all too soon I sensed people watching us. Massie must have too, because she backed off. Claire and Derrick were staring at us in shock, and Claire looked really, really hurt. Massie winked at her, noting her proximity to Derrick. Derrick looked from Massie to me to Claire, before throwing me a glare and storming away. _

"Gotta go," I pushed Massie the rest of the way off me and stood up. I tried to meet Claire's eyes, but she looked away. I chased after Derrick down the hall, calling "wait up, man!" He didn't stop until he got to our room, where he slammed the door and locked it.

It took me a while to find my key, and by the time I got in the room it looked like he'd cooled off a little, at least.

"Look, I'm sorry man—" I started, but he cut me off.

"Dude, it's fine, really. I'm not mad that you like her, I'm mad that you told me you didn't. So now I know and will stop pursuing her like the idiot I am. I mean, if you ever took a liking to any of the girls at home, the story would be the same as this. So I was angry, but I guess now I'm just disappointed that Massie doesn't like me. You can't help the fact that all the girls like you," he paused for a second and I jumped in quickly.

"I really am sorry, not just saying that. You're my best friend, dude, and I would never purposefully take a girl from yo—" I was getting annoyed that he kept cutting me off.

"I know. But again, you can't help it that the girls fall over you, and you can't help if you like them back." I shook my head but he continued, "Don't worry about me man; we've been friends for too long. If I were you, I'd worry about Claire. Devastated is not a good look for her pretty face, no matter how much she dodged the subject of liking you." He gave a sympathetic half-grin.

"D, man, you know me. I do not lead on girls that I don't like! I really like Claire, you've gotta help me." He scowled.

"Cam, in all my life I've never known you to be so two-faced! You led on Massie, didn't you? Which one do you want? You're gonna end up hurting someone either way, so choose carefully."

"No, see, you don't understand. I was really trying to get Massie off of me. I did not want to be kissing her!"

"I don't think anyone would believe that," Derrick scuffed the floor with his Pumas. "You guys looked pretty cozy."

I could tell he wasn't completely over her, and I admired him for being a big enough person to not be upset that she liked me. Still, I needed his help here!

"Right, because she was on top of me. I couldn't get her off without hurting her! Please," I begged, "Help me make it up to her. You owe me one," I added playfully, hoping to win him over and lighten the mood.

Apparently I only made it worse.

"Seriously dude? I never thought you'd be the phony type. You got to kiss the girl you know I'm crazy about, and I'm deciding to be cool about it. I think we're even now."

He turned away and shut off the light, signaling that the conversation was over.

**Claire**

I had my foot on the first rung of the ladder up to where Cam and I had been sitting earlier, trying to decide if it would be nice up there or if it would just drive the knife farther through my heart.

"Hey, Claire," Massie panted behind me, apparently having just run up the stairs. "You ok? It was going so well! And then Derrick—And then something—" She stopped short. "Actually, I'm not quite sure what happened." She had her genuinely confused face on which just made me feel worse. "I mean, me and Cam, you and Derrick, it was all working out!"

I shrugged my shoulders as if I had no idea either, because I was too much of a wimp to tell her my true feelings and that I didn't WANT to be with Derrick. I also felt really bad for him, because during our bonding session while we searched for Massie, I could tell that he really liked her.

"It's ok, Mass," I told her gently, walking us to the railing of the deck to look out at the dark water, "Things might be clearer in the morning. How about you get downstairs to sleep. I'll be down in a minute."

We both turned to see the now-dark lounge where the fiesta had been in full swing an hour ago.

"OK, see you down there. Don't dwaddle for too long, kay?" She asked, turning to leave me alone. I nodded, appreciating the reflection of the moon and stars in the water and the sound of the waves. I liked being alone.

A few minutes later I heard footsteps behind me. Sensing that it was Cam, I didn't turn around because I didn't know how I should react upon seeing him. I just stared out at the water and enjoyed the feeling of the soft breeze in my hair.

Two arms wrapped firmly around my waist in a comforting way, and I momentarily forgot that Cam had been behind me. Before I knew what I was doing I threw whoever it was to the ground like I learned in the self defense class that my over-protective mom made me take.

"Shit! Ow," the voice behind me exclaimed. I turned to see that my earlier suspicions were correct and it was Cam who was lying on the deck. Despite the pain, he looked far too handsome in the moonlight. I instantly mentally slapped myself. I couldn't trust this guy. I hated him for telling me I was beautiful and falsely leading me to think that he might prefer me over Massie. I resolved to not fall for whatever nice words he might try to woo me with now.

**Cam**

I stood up, rubbing the sore spot on my back from when I hit the deck.

"Sorry," Claire said, no differently than she might have to a stranger that she accidentally bumped into on the street. I gave her a half smile and tried to close the distance between us, but she backed away. "It's a reflex," she was saying as she moved to maintain her distance from me, so I stopped moving. "I took a self defense class, and I wasn't sure what was going on." She shrugged, but the look in her eyes said she meant it. They were also a little sad. I guess most girls don't react very well to guys they like when he just kissed her best friend.

"It's ok, it's cool," I assured her, wanting desperately to explain what had happened.

"Look, Claire, I'm so sorry about what happened. I really didn't mean-"

She cut me off. "It's ok, Cam, really. I understand, I told you everyone goes for Massie. It was just a matter of time before you realized it." She gave a soft, sad laugh.

"No! That's the problem, I didn't want—" She interrupted me on more time. I was starting to get frustrated.

"Really. I'm 100% ok with this. I was trying to set you up with her, remember? She likes you. You like her." I tried to interrupt, but she held up her hand. "I couldn't be happier for my best friend. Do you know where I could find Derrick?" The small smile on her face was real now, and it killed me. She wanted Derrick?

"Sorry, he went to sleep. But I could probably wake him up for you, if you want," I offered, not wanting to hand her over to Derrick, but wanting to stay involved, if necessary.

"That's ok. I'll talk to him in the morning," She backed up and headed for the stairs. "Thanks though. Sweet dreams, Cam." A quick little wave and she was gone.

Sighing, I climbed up the ladder to the upper deck and sat there for a while, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. I wish Claire would pop out of the stairwell with a "just kidding!" and come join me so I could show her more constellations and pretend like that never happened.

_Did you like it? In the next chapter they will go into Valencia and do touristy stuff. I know nothing about the place except what I read on a tourist site so it might be a bit lacking. The next chapter is the last one I had worked on a bit before posting this story so after it updates will probably be a bit slower. But if anyone wants to give me suggestions for what our favorite foursome should do in Bacelona, please feel free! I've never been there either._

_Smile!_

_Hugs, Sky_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you. I haven't really worked at all on anything after this, so updates might be slower. But I hope you enjoy! _

**Derrick**

I was waiting in the breakfast line with Cam, trying to pay attention to whatever he was blabbering about but failing, when I felt him stand up straighter beside me. I turned to see what he was looking at, and was faced with Massie and Claire just walking in through the doors to the dining room. Massie's hair curled really softly and I wished I could just reach out and touch it. Claire on the other hand looked much more bright-eyed than I would have expected after last night. The two were arm in arm and laughing at something Massie had just whispered to Claire. They slowly approached us, and I could see Cam fiddling with his hands and knew he was nervous. I too was curious about how the girls would greet us after what happened last night. I'd heard Cam leave the room and then come back last night. Had he gone to make out with Massie, or make up with Claire?

"Hey there," I heard Massie's flirty voice and turned, not sure who she was talking to, but holding out hope. My heart pinched a little when I saw her move to stroke Cam's arm, but I saw his fist clench and a wave of uncertainty passed through me. Maybe he was serious last night when he said he didn't want to kiss her.

"Hey, you, can we talk for a minute?" I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Claire staring up at me through her long lashes.

"Uh, sure," I replied, not knowing why she was looking at me like that.

"Let's go out on the deck, kay? We can get food when the line is shorter." She pulled me toward the door and Massie gave her a wink.

"See?" I heard Massie say as we stepped outside, "it worked. They are perfect for each other!"

Uh oh. Things were getting complicated. As much as I liked Claire and thought it was lots of fun talking to her, I didn't feel any romantic connection like I did with Massie. I hoped she didn't like me, because I didn't want to have to hurt her again.

"So listen," Claire said, all business, once we were standing by the railing. "I know you like Massie. But, unfortunately, Massie likes Cam." Way for her to rub it in. If she was gonna say what I thought she was gonna say, that we should get together—"However, I think that you are much better for her. She only likes the idea of Cam, it seems to me."

I wasn't sure what to make of this, but I had a guess as to what her motives were. "You want to hook me up with Massie so you can get with Cam?" I said in a playful way. She blushed.

"Well when you put it like that… Here's the thing, Derrick. Massie is my best friend. She wants me to be happy! So, after claiming what she believes is hers, she sets me up with a deserving guy. This happens on every school trip." She sighed, and bit her lip. "I've never actually liked any of the guys. Not the ones she sets me up with, not the ones she likes, and not any of the other ones, either. They're all so superficial." Claire sighed and shook her head.

"You sound just like Cam when he talks about San Francisco girls. Well, at least the ones at our sister school," I felt the need to tell her.

"Well, Massie is anything but superficial," Claire nodded. "Anyway, my point here is that you were right that I did really like Cam. But I know he doesn't like me and I'm not going to bother with it much because I know how annoying it is when people try to change the way I feel about someone, and I don't want to put that on him. No, I'm doing this because I know Massie better than anyone, and I can tell that she likes you. She just doesn't realize it yet. She likes Cam because in her words he's undeniably gorgeous, but she likes you because you're sweet and cute and she actually wants to know you. She just doesn't get yet that that means she likes you more. Potentially." As Claire was speaking, I could feel the hope rising in me and I think she could tell, because she giggled.

"So what should I do, oh wise one?" I asked, and she giggled.

"Ok, so you've just got to trust that I really am doing this for Massie, because step one is pretend to be into me." I think I widened my eyes, but I didn't question her. "See, this makes her feel accomplished, because her goal was to make us both happy by setting us up." That made sense, at least. "So let's go into breakfast and we don't have to act lovey dovey, just close. Because as great of a guy I think you are, I'm not into you like that, no offense,"

"None taken," I replied with a smile, feeling relieved. Not only was Claire going to help me get Massie, I would get a good friend out of her in the bargain.

I held the door for her as we walked back into the dining room, and she giggled her thanks. I put a hand on Claire's lower back and led her to the line-free buffet to grab breakfast. I could almost feel Cam staring at us jealously. I whispered that to Claire and she giggled again, like we were sharing an inside joke. I grabbed a plate and passed it to her, then took one for myself and started heaping it with pancakes and eggs and sausages; Claire did the same.

"Hey guys!" Claire plopped down next to Massie at the same booth we ate in the night before. "Excited for Valencia?" From her tone of voice it was clear that she was! We all nodded, and Massie and Claire got into an animated discussion about shopping in Spain.

"Dude," Cam started whispering to me, "What were you guys talking about out there?" I gave him a non committal shrug and opened my mouth to say more when Claire turned away from her conversation with Massie to quickly shoot me a wink. Cam's eyebrows rose and he looked between us confusedly, which Claire seemingly ignored. She and Massie shared a giggle, before stopping to tune in to our non-existent conversation.

"So," Claire cleared her throat after a few moments of awkward silence, "what are you boys planning to do in Valencia today?"

I let Cam answer because I knew he wanted to, and because he actually knew what might be worth seeing.

"I'm thinking the tour of La Catedral, maybe El Miguelete. A long lunch and then definitely the Botanical Garden. D, you down to come with and get some epic pictures?"

I nodded and tapped my camera case, excited to see Spain for the first time.

"OOOOOH photoshoot!" Massie squealed. "Mind if we come with?" Claire looked skeptical, but Cam was nodding and so I gave a "sure". Claire sighed a little, before looking up and smiling brightly. I think maybe Massie had kicked her leg or something.

"So it's settled," Cam nodded, trying to catch Claire's eye, "We'll meet you by the ramp before we all go into the city." The girls agreed and got up to go back to their room before we left.

**Massie**

"So, you and Derrick are getting close, huh?" I asked, smirking at Claire. For once it really seemed like she might be into a guy I set her up with, not just hanging out with him to make me happy.

"Yea, we are," She smiled at me in the mirror as we brushed our hair and did a last make-up check, "But I dunno. I think we might just be superclose friends." When I looked over my shoulder at her, she just gave an innocent shrug. "I mean, I like him a lot, and he's really easy to talk to. And he is certainly easy on the eyes," She giggled and I nodded, completely agreeing with her analysis. "but I dunno," she shrugged again, " I think we're destined to be friends. Still," she added, "you still get full bragging rights to Cam about getting us together," she raised her eyebrows and it was my turn to giggle.

"Rate me?" I asked, and she happily did, giving my Tibi Lipstick Summer dress and sensible heels a nine-seven. I rated he Milly Hippie Princess Dress a nine-five.

We made our way up to the top deck where we would be let off the boat for our first tourist stop. Immediately I linked arms with Cam and led him down the ramp. Claire and Derrick were talking in low voices and laughing with each other. As much as I wanted them together, they did just act like boy/girl bffs.

"So Cam, have you ever been to Spain before?" I asked, pulling his focus from the harbor to me. He glanced over and gave a grin.

"Yea, once," he answered, looking like he was remembering a really fun time. For a while he didn't say anything. I was about to ask another question when he looked up and continued. "Summer after sixth grade I came with some cousins. We didn't really get to see any coastal areas, though." He shrugged, the small smile still playing across his thin lips. I wondered what he was remembering, but didn't want to interrupt his thoughts to ask. Sigh. One of the things I liked about Cam was that he is super laid back, but sometimes it is just hard for me because I am so much less laid back.

"What about you?" He asked, finally snapping out of his reverie and turning to me. A grin spread across my face and I began talking his ear off about modeling in Spain for the rest of the walk into town.

**Cam**

I smiled with the certainty that Massie was not right for me. If I'd had any feelings towards her after our kiss, then I would have thought myself a dolt and truly unworthy of Claire. But like after I mentioned my Spain trip with my cousin, I could tell that Massie was uncomfortable with my content silence. She blabbered on about her modeling trips, which I admit was kind of cool, but I could tell it was more to fill the silence than to try to impress me. Occasionally I tuned out and tried to hear what Claire and Derrick were talking about, but they were talking in hushed tones, arm in arm. I knew Derrick was still upset about the previous night even if he claimed to be over her, but I trusted him enough to know that he wasn't simply hanging out with Claire to make me angry. Maybe he didn't believe me when I said I really wanted Claire back, or maybe he had just seen how amazing she was and given up on Massie. It certainly seemed to help that Claire had been all over him. Admittedly they were very good-looking together, their blond heads leaning towards each other and genuine smiles gracing their features. How did this happen? I definitely wanted Derrick to be happy, but not with the only girl I've ever seriously considered liking. There were so many girls I let him have back in SF, couldn't he let me have just this one?

I tuned back in to Massie's talk to hear her going on about all the countries she's been to, resolving to talk to Derrick before he fell any deeper for the girl who was meant for me.

**Claire**

Talking to Derrick was fun. In under an hour he'd become my secret holder, the guy I share relationship problems with, the best friend. Besides Massie, of course. We'd been touring around Valencia, wandering through cathedrals and other churches.

The four of us were sitting at a table outside a little restaurant where we'd decided to grab lunch. Massie was talking Cam's ear off while Derrick and I looked at the pictures on his fancy shmancy digital camera. He sure did have a special eye for photography; some of his shots were so incredibly artsy or turned something simple into something beautiful. Of course there were a few pictures of Massie and me posing in ridiculous ways thrown in there, as well as a few of Massie and Cam. Derrick skipped through those quickly, slowing down when he reached one of the four of us in front of a beautiful fountain. A cute elderly couple had taken it in exchange for Derrick taking their picture in the same place. In that picture he had his arms loosely draped around both me and Massie, a huge goofy grin on his face. Cam was the only one looking sort of out of place, standing stiffly in Massie's grip and only smiling slightly.

"I like this one." Derrick said, turning his focus from the screen to me.

"Yea, me too. It sort of… captures all of our personalities," I agreed. It had Derricks goofiness, Massie's I'm-all-about-fun-ness, my pure joy in that moment, and Cam's awkward/rude/twofaced/confusing… ok. Maybe I was being a little harsh. I just didn't get why he couldn't be honest with me the night before. Didn't he understand I knew Massie was better? I told him I knew that! He probably didn't even like my music. If he couldn't be honest about thinking I'm beautiful, I shouldn't believe his judgment on my songs. That was the conclusion I'd come to shortly after waking up that morning. But my anger at him had turned into something great. Wanting Cam to not be able to get away with his jerky, stuck-upness, I decided to help Derrick get Massie.

"What do you want to do after lunch?" I heard Massie ask the whole group, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"I was thinking the garden," Cam spoke up for the first time in ages, and I could tell he was trying to catch my eye, so I determinedly ignored him. That player.

"Well, Derrick and I were thinking of hitting the beach," I replied, playfully nudging him. He returned a grin.

"Ok! Great idea, C! Cam and I can catch up with you guys later," Massie exclaimed enthusiastically. Cam looked much less happy.

"But Derrick, I though you wanted to take some shots there. If you guys come with us then I can show you around some museums after, and then we can all hit the beach together," Cam suggested.

Derrick looked at me torn, and I knew Cam must've been right that he'd been looking forward to the gardens. But I had a plan.

"I'm getting sort of tired of walking around right now, and the beach is calling my name. You can go ahead with them if you'd like," I told Derrick, looking straight into his eyes in hopes that he'd take a hint and come with me.

"Yea, thanks Cam, but I think I'll hang with Claire for the rest of the day. Just the beach sounds fine with me, I love taking coastal pictures too." He smile-shrugged while pulling out his wallet to pay for his lunch, slapping a 20 on the table. The rest of us did the same, pushing back our chairs noisily and leaving the patio in front of the restaurant.

Massie came over to give me a goodbye hug, and she whispered a "thanks" in my ear.

"Text me when you guys leave the garden," I whispered back. She pulled away from the hug to grin hugely at me.

"You're doing this for me? You're the best, Claire. And have fun with Derrick," she added winking, causing me to giggle.

We walked back over to our respective guys, who were also talking in hushed voices.

"Ready to go, Cam?" Massie asked, braking up their conversation.

"Sure," He gave her an adorable half smile. _NO! Bad Claire! He is not a good person, despite his beautiful exterior!_ I scolded myself. Cam turned back to say one last thing, "Derrick, I mean it."

I wondered what he could possibly mean by that, but let it go, instead choosing to link arms with Derrick and engage in playful banter as we made our way to the beach.

"So, Ms. Matchmaker, what's the idea behind splitting up our group?" He asked playfully as we made our way down a mildly crowded sidewalk.

"Well, Mr. needs-to-be-match-made, I think Massie needs to spend more time with Cam and realize how uncomfortable she is when she's with him. Notice how she's always doing all the talking, well she can't stand awkward silences and is filling the space. Soon she's gonna realize she doesn't want to do all the talking," I explained. "Also it's a chance for us to just hang out, and for her to think that she got us together. But don't worry, she'll text us when they leave the garden, in case you want to go there too."

He smiled. "Boy, you think of everything Claire!" he exclaimed, as we settled ourselves down in the soft sand. "But are you sure this has nothing to do with making my dear friend Cam jealous?"

I gaped at him for a second before regaining composure. "Why would I want to make him jealous? I know when to give up, thankyouverymuch. I'm not one of those girls that keeps chasing even when she knows there's no hope," I protested. "Besides, even if I was, at this point I don't think there's anything about him besides a pretty face that's worth chasing," I concluded.

"Hmmmmm. You two seemed pretty cozy last night, before I had to interrupt. I'm sorry about that, by the way. And He royally screwed up by kissing Massie. But you're wrong, he's not as empty-hearted as you seem to think he is," Derrick replied with some sort of knowing glint in his eye. I didn't know what it meant and I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out.

_Thanks for reading! You guys make me smile :) Oh and I still am taking suggestions for what they should do in Barcelona. __Have a lovely afternoon!_

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. This is a quick filler bit for you, and I have the next chapter halfway done, and will post it soon. But here is chapter 7!_

**Derrick**

"Hmmmmm. You two seemed pretty cozy last night, before I had to interrupt. I'm sorry about that, by the way. And he royally screwed up by kissing Massie. But you're wrong, he's not as empty-hearted as you seem to think he is," I said to Claire, trying to keep it playful but sincere. I knew now that while Claire's mission here might be to get me and Massie together, mine should be to get her and Cam together. After hearing his plea to me to get her to understand last night's situation and who he really is, I really believed he felt for this girl. He had warned me completely seriously that I was under no circumstances to fall for Claire. Plus, I could see how stiff he was around Massie, which stilled my previous anger towards him.

Claire had put on her poker face again and shut me out from her feelings, before smiling and saying chipperly, "let's get some pictures of the beach, shall we?" She got up and started leaping and twirling her way down the beach, to the amusement of many onlookers. I couldn't help the smile that always appeared on my face when she acted so freespirited and carefree. I snapped some action shots of her in midair, and then many of the coastal birds and the bustling beach scene. Suddenly she came zooming back towards me, still leaping.

"Ok," she breathed heavily once she stopped, "They just left the garden and are heading to one of the art museums. Did you want to go see some cool plants?"

"Sure," I replied, excited. I really had wanted to see the gardens, and was glad that Claire had the foresight to fit that into her plan. She linked arms with me and started skipping in the general direction of the gardens, dragging me along with her.

**Massie**

We arrived back on the boat just minutes before we were scheduled to take off. Cam and I had met up with Claire and Derrick for ice cream at the beach after touring the sites, and I was happy to see them getting along well. At least if I couldn't score Claire a great boyfriend, I was helping her gain that best guy friend every girl needs.

My tour with Cam had been great, lots of fun, but I was sort of getting tired of holding up the conversation. It was good when we got to places like the garden and a couple of museums and he courteously explained things to me. He was nice and polite and not cold towards me, but I was missing the connection I'd felt when I kissed him. He was not giving me anything nonplatonic, at all. I'd have to talk to Claire so she could ask Derrick to tell Cam to be less shy with me. As we walked up the ramp, I glanced enviously at the two blondes laughing in front of me. I wanted something like that with Cam, of course with a little passion thrown in as well. Cam was gazing out to sea as we reached the deck of the boat. He was so broody and mysterious, which was hott but also unnerving a little, just cause I never knew what to do until he snapped back to attention.

"Hey guys, I think Massie and I are gonna go change quickly, yea?" Claire's voice cut through my thoughts, and I smiled at her gratefully. She always knew what I needed and how to make it happen.

"Sounds good," Derrick grinned at her, and Cam's face turned from spaced out to unreadable. I grabbed Claire's hand and led her quickly down to our room so we could recap about our days.

**Cam**

I couldn't bring myself to be actively rude to Massie, but that didn't stop me from maybe not making sure she was comfortable 100% of the time. Losing myself in thought is something that happened to me often, and so if I wasn't making sure that didn't happen around Massie, then sue me. She was nice and all and I couldn't quite blame her for her actions when she was drunk, but her determination and confidence that _of course_ I would like her was keeping me from Claire. By the time we got back to the boat and Claire stole Massie away, I was SO relieved.

"So, man, how'd it go?" Derrick asked me once the girls were gone.

"Eh, you know," I shrugged, and he chuckled a little. "She's very…enthusiastic. And…chatty. And I mean she's fine to hang out with, but not if I'm spending the whole time wishing I was with Claire," I grinned sheepishly at him.

"I think you're clear, man. I mean, she says she's just doing this for me, and that she 'knows when to give up,'" Derrick air quoted, "and that she can't see any reason to like you anymore after what you did. But I did my best to convince her that you are not as bad as that night made you seem, and the fact that she is saying she would have to give up is a good sign, for you."

At first I didn't know what he meant by "this" but then I remembered that at the café he'd mentioned that Claire had some sort of plan to get him with Massie, which involved them pretending to be into each other. And I couldn't help but grin at the second part of what he said. She thought she had to give up on me? I would definitely have to prove her wrong on that one.

We hung out in the arcade room challenging each other to a round of old-fashioned pinball until the girls reemerged and found us. I couldn't take my eyes off Claire at first, she was wearing a lacy gray tank top and dark jeans, but she looked amazing with her hair pulled back, simple make up, and sparkly earrings.

"You girls look awesome," Derrick commented, causing Claire to blush and Massie to twirl. Massie looked really good too, I noticed, but a bit more dressy. I admired Claire's laid back, natural beauty. The four of us headed over to the dining hall where we actually managed to get a space at the long rectangular table this time.

"So, how'd you like Valencia?" A very attractive Spanish girl asked Massie as we sat down.

"Oh, Leesh, you are from such a great country!" Massie gushed, and Claire nodded enthusiastically. I realized this must be their friend Alicia. I'd almost forgotten about the other girls on this trip. Josh was sitting with Alicia, and Plovert with Dylan, so the eight of us had a grand old time, laughing and joking and trading stories all day. Yet even during all the fun, all that I could really think of was the best way to convince Claire that there was no reason to give up liking me.

**Derrick**

After a great dinner, we followed the masses into the Yellow Lounge which was a library of sorts, as bookshelves lined the walls. Ginnah stood in the middle of the room conversing with the teacher Massie had flirted with on the first day, Mr. Myner I think. The eight of us took up two couches, and continued our banter from dinner.

"Everyone, attention please!" Ginnah called, and Myner made a whistling noise using his pinkies. She shot him an appreciative look. "Welcome to night two on the Dreamer!" She continued once it was nearly quiet. "I hope your day today managed to be both fun and educational," she flashed us a teasing grin. "Now, get excited to play some charades! This is a boys versus girls game, so if girls could gather on this side of the room," she pointed to where we were seated, "and boys on the other." There was a bit of groaning as people got up to move, and I glanced a bit longingly at Massie before moving. A couple of jocks and the girls they were with used the time to skip out, but a surprising amount if people stayed.

"So, rules," Myner started once everyone was settled, "everyone take three index cards and write a famous person on each. Then fold it in half only once. Try to make at least one of your cards someone we've learned about in history or someone relevant to a site we'll visit on this trip."

There was more lighthearted groaning as Ginnah passed around a stack of index cards and pens.

"Make an order within your team. When it's your turn, you'll take a card from the pile the other team made. You will have a minute and a half to get through as many as you can. If you need to pass, just put it back in the hat. The team with the least left over at the end wins. Got it?" There were a few "yup"s and "yes sir"s, but mostly everyone just nodded.

I bit the tip of my pen, a nervous habit, as I tried to think of who to write. Once I had my three I looked up to see Massie and Claire whispering excitedly, with slightly devious looks on their faces, and I knew it would be a challenge to beat the girls.

**Claire**

In case anyone is wondering, Massie and I are charades champs. Any sort of game where you have to figure out what the other person is saying from motions or telepathy we have in the bag. So we focused on choosing names that would stump the guys. First we thought of writing down girls who always act in chick flicks, but we decided they are generally very attractive and the guys would know about them. Then we thought of girls in girly bands and giggled. I highly doubted many of those Hotchkiss boys knew who Skye Sweetnam was. Also we had the advantage in that Ms. Lyle had been teaching us all about history, and while some of her tangents about her favorite obscure Greek heroes may have been slightly eye-roll inducing at the time, I was glad for them now.

When I finished my three cards I thought back to what Massie had said when we got back to the boat and changed for dinner.

"_I don't understand, Claire. It's like, there was so much spark there when he kissed me. But now he won't even hold up his half of a conversation. I mean, he might be shy and all, but what else do I have to do to let him know I like him? Will you talk to Derrick to talk to Cam for me?"_

She'd been totally oblivious to my cringing and uncomfortable look when talking about how great it was to kiss Cam. Also, I mean I knew that _maybe_ Derrick was right and Cam didn't like Massie and was therefore ignoring her, but if not, was he really that bad of a conversationalist? That would be awkward. But I decided it shouldn't matter because I didn't like Cam anymore anyway. Right? Right.

Mr. Myner's voice interrupted my thoughts, asking for my cards. I dropped them in a San Fransisco Giants cap, which must have belonged to one of the guys. Then, with a devious grin in Massie's direction, I got into game mode and prepared to take on the guys.

_I hope you liked! The next chapter will have a bit more going on. And the chapter after that they will tour Barcelona. Ok. I will try to update soon! Hope everyone had a good weekend. Smile!_

_Hugs, Sky_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey guys, so I wanted to get this up today cause the chapter I posted this afternoon was kind of boring. Anyway. I haven't said this in a while, so: The plot and characters do not belong to me. Thank Tyne O'Connell and Lisi Harrison, respectively._

**Cam**

"I mean, it was to be expected," Dylan smirked as the eight of us headed to Josh and Plovert's room after the game.

"Yea, don't feel bad, guys. Girls totally have the advantage for things like this," Massie shrugged nonchalantly, but I could tell she wanted to gloat.

"Hey, look," Josh said after unlocking his door, and I was glad to get the girls to stop talking about how they annihilated us in charades. He held up a piece of paper that had been slipped under the door, and the other's crowded around to look. I waited my turn, and when I got it I saw that it was a schedule.

_**The Dreamer**_

Day 3

9:00: Wake up!

9:30: Breakfast

10:00: Group tour of FC Barcelona museum and stadium

12:00: Shopping on La Rambla (please buy lunch)

3:00: Group trip up Tibidabo Hill

6:00: Poble Espanyol (please buy dinner)

8:00: Group trip to Flamenco Show

9:30: Magic Fountain

10:30: board ship

11:00: Sweet Dreams! (Tomorrow: Perpignan)

Day 4

9:00: Wake up!

9:30: Breakfast

10:00: Eglise Saint Jaques

12:00: Le Castillet & Casa Pairal Museum

1:30: Group Lunch

2:30: La Palais des Rois de Majorque

4:00: free walking time

6:00: board boat for dinner

8:00: Mediterranean Ocean History Documentary (yes, this is mandatory)

11:00: Sweet Dreams! (Tomorrow: Marseille)

"Awesome!" Plovert and Josh highfived, they were huge Barcelona fans and were excited to tour the stadium. The girls expressed more interest for the shopping street, and Claire softly voiced her anticipation for the Spanish Village. Derrick was ecited for photography of course, but also to practice his French. I was just excited for it all.

Since there was about an hour and a half until curfew, we decided to watch a movie. Alicia had swiped a few dvd's from the shelves in the yellow room, and the girls gathered around her to choose.

"This could be a horrible idea," Derrick whispered to me, Josh, and Plovert. I raised an eyebrow in question. "Y'know, letting the girls pick the movie."

We all snickered at that, causing the girls to turn around and glare. Even Claire looked a bit unhappy, so I tried to compose myself quickly.

Finally the girls made their choice. I didn't even really care what it was; I just hoped to make up some lost ground with Claire.

Massie immediately claimed the spot to my right, but Derrick summoned Claire to the couch by patting the spot in between him and me. I shot him a grateful grin.

The movie opened with a sunset and palmtrees and a pineapple before revealing the title: 50 first dates. Our groans were audible as the girls turned to slap us on the arms. I smiled to myself though… if my memory served me correctly, this movie had Adam Sandler in it so as far as chick flicks go, so at least it had the potential to be entertaining.

Derrick and Plovert cracked up as Henry got the walrus to puke on his assistant. Alicia scrunched her nose in disgust and Massie rolled her eyes. Dylan burped and Claire just giggled softly.

As the movie went on, Massie nuzzled herself into my side, but I didn't wrap my arm around her even though that was probably what she wanted. Instead I slowly moved my arm up behind Claire, but then couldn't bring myself to wrap it around her shoulders. She was completely transfixed on the movie. Instead, I started playing with a small piece of her hair, twirling it around my finger. I felt her stiffen a bit, but she didn't pull away. That small fact made me smile.

At the point when they were fast forwarding through a bunch of the dates, hearing Lucy say "nothing beats a first kiss" over and over again, Claire went to the bathroom. The second she got up I missed her presence next to me. Derrick looked over at me with raised eyebrow and I shrugged back. I couldn't quite tell how it was going.

Massie started playing with my hand, giving me a hand massage. It actually felt good, so I didn't tell her to stop. But I shook my head back at Derrick so he wouldn't think I was trying to flirt with her. Massie looked up at me and grinned, before turning her attention back to my hand.

I shifted my body to face her more, planning on saying thanks, when the door opened. At first I didn't think much of it, but then Derrick cleared his throat. I looked up to see Claire in the doorway, looking between me and Massie. I tried to meet her eyes, but she just gave a mini shrug without meeting my gaze and went to plop down next to Derrick just as Henry admitted to loving Lucy. She whispered something in his ear that made him laugh, earning "shhhhh's" from Dylan, Alicia, and Plovert? I nearly wanted to laugh at him, but I was a bit preoccupied. What the hell had just happened?

**Massie**

I loved the movie 50 First Dates. While the girls and I were all in the mood for a chick flick, we tried to pick one that the guys might enjoy as well. The occasional laughs from them proved me right. Plovert seemed to be a bit immature, but he had a sense of humor. So did Derrick; I smiled whenever I heard his heart chuckle. Cam and Josh never really made any noise, and I couldn't tell if it was because they were bored or polite. I knew Alicia would be rolling her eyes every time Plovert or Derrick laughed, so maybe Josh was being sensitive to that. I hope Cam didn't think I was that way.

I tried to snuggle with him and it didn't really work so after a while I gave up and started giving him a hand massage, which he was more responsive to. He even smiled at me and turned his attention away from the movie. He got weird when Claire came back, but then returned his focus to me. Maybe things were getting better. I liked him better when he wasn't as shy.

Once the movie was over, Dylan and Plovert escaped for some alone time. Alicia and Josh kicked us out of the room, hoping for the same. In the hallway, Derrick stretched his arms and gave a big yawn.

"Derrick, can I talk to you for a minute before you go to bed?" Claire asked, and I shot her a grin.

"Sure," he nodded before turning to me. "Night, Mass," he said with his adorable grin, "I'll be back in the room in a sec," he told Cam who just nodded.

"Night," I waved back. They escaped up the stairs, and I turned to Cam. "Walk me back to my room?" I asked, and he shrugged, before giving me a small smile and gesturing for me to lead the way.

"Thanks for the hand massage, Massie," he said, sounding genuinely grateful, but there was another emotion in his voice as well.

"Anytime," I said flirtatiously, meaning it.

He laughed quietly to himself as we reached my room. "Alright. Good night, Massie. I'll see you tomorrow." He pulled me into the briefest of hugs before turning and heading down the hall to his own.

**Derrick**

"Ok," Claire said, all business, as we sat up on the small circular upper-upper deck. "So. My plan for tomorrow. In the day, we will continue to hang out in a group and such. Wait, you like hanging out with Dylan and Alicia too, right?" She paused long enough for me to nod my head. "Alright. Good. Well, when we get out of the Flamenco show and go to the magic fountain, I'm gonna make myself scarce. If you tell Cam to stay away from her after that too, that is your first chance to go talk to her alone in a semi-romantic setting. But don't be too forward or anything, just be yourself. That will cement her desire to get to know you better – as a friend, she'll think, but that will change soon. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, cause I didn't know if I'd get a chance to talk to you in the morning."

She finally stopped to breathe and I smiled. "Sounds good," I replied, nodding. "I can't tell how she feels about Cam anymore."

"Oh, she still likes him," Claire said, allknowing-ly, "but it probably won't last too much longer. Unless he keeps stringing her along."

She stopped and frowned a little after that, thinking. I wondered if it had something to do with how Massie and Cam had looked when she returned from the bathroom during the movie, but I didn't ask.

"Well," she said, happy once more, "Barcelona should be really fun. I'm so excited!" She smiled directly at me, all traces of the frown gone. In the middle of her saying this though, I started yawning.

"I'm excited too," I agreed truthfully, "but I really am tired. I think I'll turn in for the night. You coming?"

"Hm," she replied, looking up to the stars for the first time that night, "I think I'll stay up here for five more minutes. See you tomorrow. Sweet dreams," she waved as I climed down the ladder.

"Night," I replied from the dock below, heading for the stairs. When I got in the stairwell I found Cam crouched there spy-style.

"Dude, what are you doing?" I asked, laughing.

He looked up quickly, and started blushing. "I just was trying to figure out what you and Claire were talking about," he replied sheepishly, "did she say anything about me?"

"Nope, she just clued me in on her plan for tomorrow, of what I should do to get Massie. I'm supposed to tell you to get away from her at the magic fountain, after the flamenco show, because that's when I'm supposed to get her alone," I told him.

"Oh. Ok. Is she gonna stay up there for a while?" He asked, looking out at where she was sitting, her hair reflecting the moonlight.

"Five minutes or so," I answered, "Good luck, man." I could tell he was gonna go and try to talk to her, so I left him to it and headed down to our room to go to bed.

**Claire**

I heard footsteps on the deck below after Derrick had supposedly gone to bed already, so I looked over the railing to see Cam approaching the ladder below me. When he saw me see him, he called up to me.

"Hey, is it alright if I come up and join you?"

I shrugged, and he took it as a yes, climbing the ladder and sitting down next to me.

"So, how's it going Claire? I haven't gotten to talk to you much lately," he asked, and I decided to just go with it, the friendly conversation. It'd be more awkward and obvious if I acted rude and distant, wouldn't it?

"I've been good," I replied truthfully. "I had so much fun with Derrick in Valencia today. And charades was fun," I teased a little, raising an eyebrow. I laughed at his expression. "But yea. This has been such a good trip so far. I am so excited for the upcoming cities," I smiled at him. It was hard not to, even though I knew he probably wouldn't return it. Just because he didn't like me didn't mean I couldn't still think he was cute…

"Yea, I can't wait for the Poble Espanyol," he agreed.

"How are things with Massie?" I ventured, and then regretted it after. I didn't really wanna hear him gush about her. Even though I thought Massie would like Derrick better, he still might really like her.

"Well," he started, and I could tell he was choosing his words carefully. "Good, I guess, she's nice and cool and she really cares about her friends," he said, looking me directly in the eye. I turned away from his intense gaze. "But she's also kind of intense, and talks a lot… I dunno. I mean, she kind of pursued me, and I didn't really –"

I cut him off, not wanting to hear him try and make excuses. "Y'know what, I just got really tired, I'm going to head down to bed," I said firmly, and I heard him sigh.

"Ok, night Claire," he said sounding dejected as he let me by him to the ladder.

"But hey, I'll see you tomorrow," I offered, trying to keep it friendly. He just nodded as I descended the ladder. But as I walked across the deck to the staircase, I heard him let out a frustrated groan and wondered if maybe he hadn't meant to kiss Massie that first night.

_Stop it Claire,_ I scolded myself, _you can't let yourself hope. That's what he wants._ I shook the thoughts out of my head and went to bed.

_There you go I don't have any amount of the next chapter typed but I have ideas for it so hopefully the update will be sooner rather than later. Let me know what you think._

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey guys, I got some really amazing reviews on the last chapter, so thank you so much! I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the story. I haven't said it in a while so just a quick reminder that the plot is not mine and belongs to the brilliant Tyne O'Connell, and the characters to the brilliant Lisi Harrison. Here's part 1 of their time in Barcelona. Sorry if a lot of the sites aren't described well; I've never been to Europe so I found these on a tourist website. Anyway, enjoy..._

**Cam**

The shouts of excitement from the guys as we pulled up to the stadium were slightly overwhelming. I'd spent the ride—and the whole night before, come to think of it—hitting myself over the head for not using my time with Claire better. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to be nice about Massie when she asked. Maybe I should've blurted what came to mind first, that it was horrible spending time with Massie when all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and stay there forever. _Whoa_, I thought to myself, _I've never been that gushy about a girl, ever_.

We piled out of the bus and stood in front of the stadium. We were told to separate into groups, so Massie immediately grabbed Claire and Alicia, who grabbed Dylan, and they stood off to the side. Josh and Plovert said something to their respective girls, and then hugged them before walking over to stand with some other guys from the soccer team.

Derrick pulled me over to the girls though, and before I knew it he was wrapped in a big hug from Claire. I almost could have punched him, I was so jealous. Massie came and gave me a similar hug, which I returned. I couldn't be outright rude to her, even if I'd wanted to.

"You guys aren't on the soccer team?" Dylan asked curiously as we made our way into the line.

"Nope," Derrick responded cheerily. "I played when I was younger, but now I just run in the morning." I nodded in agreement. I'd never played soccer in my life, but the World Cup was always a big deal in my family, especially having cousins in Spain.

"How about you, Cam?" Alicia asked, genuinely curious.

"I played tennis for a while, but that's pretty much it" I answered. Derrick and I had always been more into artsy-er stuff growing up; he'd always been super focused on photography, and I wasn't half bad at painting. But we always ran together in the mornings to stay in shape.

"First half of the line, follow me!" Mr. Gelt yelled, "We are going on the stadium tour first. "Everyone else go with Ginnah to look at the museum first! Then we will switch."

We moved over to where Ginnah and Mr. Myner were standing, discussing something. Then, horror of horrors, Ginnah _giggled_. A girly sort of, cutesy laugh. And Mr. Myner laughed back! Derrick and I shared a look. We rarely heard Ginnah laugh, and we had never heard her giggle. The girls seemed oblivious, not realizing how this was not normal teacher behavior. From the exchange Massie and Mr. Myner shared on the first night, I assumed that they'd seen him be very social before.

They led us into the stadium's museum, which was filled with displays celebrating the history of the franchise. I looked around in awe. I may not be as invested in soccer as Plovert or Josh, but that didn't stop me from being interested.

We wandered around looking at vintage jerseys and black and white photographs for a while, and got an informal lecture on the history of the building. I heard Derrick and Claire whispering to each other during some of it, and was surprised and impressed at how much she knew about soccer.

Then we were led out into the stadium, which was amazing to look at. The grass was that picture-perfect green, and the place was just huge. This time I smiled at the excited chatter of my classmates, and we started off on our tour.

**Massie**

Touring the stadium had been fun, but it was more fun to catch up with Leesh and Dyl. Having been so focused on the guys the past few days meant I'd barely spoken to them since we boarded the ship. They gushed about their relationships with Josh and Plovert respectively, and how much fun they'd had getting to know some of the other guys, like Danny and Kemp. I told them all about Cam, but I might have fabricated some of the affection a bit, to make it seem more serious than it was. Also I filled them in a bit on how I'd set up Claire and Derrick, but I almost didn't have to because anyone could tell just by looking at them that they were super close.

As we boarded back on the bus to head to the shopping street, Claire sent me and apologetic grin before sitting next to Derrick, who had sat with Cam on the ride over. I just grinned hugely back, I was glad to see them getting along so well. At this point they were almost acting on the border of more than friends. I also was happy for an excuse to sit next to Cam. He greeted me with an easy smile as I slid in the seat beside him, glad that we were starting off well today.

We made small talk about sports and the world cup until we arrived at La Rambla, a famous street lined with stores and vendors. Leesh and I exchanged excited looks across the aisle of the bus; out of the four girls we were definitely the most into shopping. Cam and I got off the bus and stood to the side to wait for the others. As Alicia got off, I saw her exchange a laugh with Danny Robbins, and wished I'd been getting to know other guys too. But as long as I had Cam, it was worth it to spend all of my time with him, right?

About an hour and a half later, my feet were tired and I was ready for a lunch break. Josh and Plovert had dutifully carried all of Alicia and Dylan's shopping bags, and I coerced Cam into doing the same. Claire only had one shopping bag, a couple of touristy souvenirs for her brother and dad, and a really nice scarf for her mom. She carried it herself, but she and Derrick walked together; they occasionally interacted with one of us, but mostly kept to themselves.

"Hey, anyone else hungry?" Derrick asked, and I sighed in relief. I hadn't wanted to be the one to suggest stopping for lunch.

"I am," I answered, and the guys nodded.

"Hey, there's a nice looking restaurant just down there," Claire suggested, pointing to where umbrellas and tables lined a patio. We all agreed and went to get food.

The lunch conversation pretty much consisted of trading stories from our home schools, us girls telling about how Mr. Myner broke the overhead projector once, and them telling us about all of Ginnah's "go green!" initiatives and other odd classroom rituals, like voting on essay topics. I looked around and was glad to see everyone enjoying themselves. This is exactly what I'd always wanted: all my friends in one place with guys who adored us by our sides. I was so glad Claire had finally loosened up around someone I chose for her.

After lunch we wandered up and down the street, not really stopping in any stores, but just joking around and people watching. Then when we headed back to the bus to go to the next tourist stop, the guys introduced me and Claire to Danny Robbins, Kemp Hurley, and Dempsey Solomon. I was glad to meet more people even if I probably wouldn't be able to get to know them too well. We boarded the bus together and sat in a clump, Danny, Kemp, and Dempsey sitting next to girls they had ended up with. As we rode to the next attraction, I could only hope that it would be as perfect as the last one.

**Claire**

The morning had been perfect. The stadium had been awesome, and we'd had so much fun as a group on the shopping street. Also I'd had some great conversation with Derrick. I loved that I could just be myself around him; he was truly a great friend. I could only hope all my plans to help him would work, because I could tell he'd be so crushed if they didn't.

I didn't know how much if any he'd told Cam about my plan and helping him to get Massie, but on the offchance that it wasn't much, I tried to be a little flirty with Derrick, just in case. But halfway through lunch I realized that first of all, that might throw off Massie when she realized she liked Derrick more, and second, that I didn't care if Cam was jealous. It didn't matter. Nope. Not at all.

We got to Tibidabo Hill and piled out of the bus. I ended up walking with Derrick, Dylan, and Plovert. We had a great conversation; Derrick and Plovert were hilarious together. I realized that I didn't know if I've ever laughed harder in my life than I did that day, both at lunch and while climbing the hill. I was so glad to get to know Plovert better because he was super funny and the nicest guy, and I could tell he really liked Dylan.

When we were nearing the top, I heard Massie mutter something about getting tired of walking. She'd been behind us, with Cam, Alicia, and Josh. I shot Derrick a look, but he just looked back with a confused stare.

"My feeeeeeeeet," Massie let out again, and I nudged Derrick with my elbow.

"Give her a piggyback. We're starting the plan early. There's an amusement park at the top of the hill. You're getting on a ride with her. Do it. Now," I commanded in barely above a whisper. He let out a soft laugh, and turned to talk to Plovert. I was a bit confused. Hadn't my advice worked so far? I guess we couldn't really tell. Maybe he was tired of the lack of results. But I'd at least thought he liked hanging out with me and respected me as a person…

Within the next minute, Massie had complained once again, and Derrick shot me a wink.

"Hey, Mass, you need a piggyback?" He asked, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"That'd be great, Derrick, thanks!" She replied enthusiastically. He grinned at me as she hopped on his back, and I returned it. I suddenly got it—he just hadn't wanted to make it obvious what we'd been talking about by turning around and offering her a piggyback right when I told him to.

I smiled as he practically ran the rest of the way up the hill with her on his back, zigzagging through the others on our tour group. Massie's giggle rang out as he sped up, and I couldn't stop smiling. This was it. Maybe she'd finally start to realize. Just as long as Derrick took my advice and only tried to be her friend at first, things should work out. And as long as Cam stayed out of her way…

"Wow, he's such a gentleman," I commented casually to Cam. I figured if I kept him busy by trying to be his friend, he wouldn't get in the way of Derrick and Massie. But instead of sighing and saying he wished he'd thought of carrying Massie first like I thought he would, he turned to me and offered a half grin.

"Do you want a piggyback?" He looked straight into my eyes. I was taken aback, not having expected it.

"I'm good, thanks. I actually really like walking," I declined as politely as I could. "Sorry I ran away last night," I continued cheerfully, "I really was tired." I offered an apologetic smile. I didn't want things to be awkward. If I was going to have to hang out with him—for the sake of Derrick and Massie's progress of course—he couldn't know how upset I'd been at him. That'd just be awkward.

"It's cool," he said, and it was his turn to look surprised. I guess he had good reason; I hadn't exactly been friendly to him after finding him with Massie that first night. I'd been spending so much time with Derrick, that I hadn't taken the initiative to start a conversation with him at all.

"Good." I smiled at him as we reached the top of the hill. I heard calliope music and the delighted screams of people on amusement park rides. "Wanna go on the Ferris Wheel?" I asked, pointing to where Massie and Derrick were at the front of the line, and where Alicia, Dylan, Josh, and Chris were headed.

"Actually," Cam said slowly, almost nervously. I hoped he wasn't going to say he had no interest in going on a ride with me, and that he wanted to go knock Derrick out and continue his day with Massie, and— "I prefer the merry-go-round myself. Would you want to go on that with me?" He sounded like he was sure I would say no, so I just shrugged and grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the carousel.

We rode a number of other rides together, and I never stopped to think that maybe we should go join the others. As hard as I tried not to enjoy myself with Cam, it was impossible. We laughed about nothing and everything, screamed at the top of our lungs on the rollercoaster, and got completely soaked on a water ride.

As we walked back towards where our group was meeting to leave for the next place, I was brought back down to earth. Cam didn't like me, he just thought of me as a friend. And I couldn't let me distract him from my mission of getting Derrick and Massie together. I made up my mind to remain friendly but also stay a bit distant. It was probably what was best for the situation.

We kept up the conversation as we waited for others to come, but I was much less enthusiastic. It was harder to interact with him when I had to… think about it.

I heard Massie's giggle and Derrick's hearty laugh and turned immediately. They approached slowly, tagging along behind Josh, Plovert, Alicia, and Dylan. Once they joined the growing group of students, I was surprised to be pulled into an enormous bear hug from Derrick. I grinned into his shoulder where my face was smooshed and returned the hug.

"Thanks," he whispered super softly, "I had the best afternoon."

I nodded in agreement, still in the hug. When I pulled away, he gave me the goofiest grin, which I returned wholeheartedly. Then we returned our attention to the rest of the group. Massie and Cam had started talking, but Cam stole a glance at me, an unreadable expression on his face. He looked away quickly when he saw I noticed him looking. Huh. Derrick slipped his arm around me and we boarded the bus in the same seats as before, to make our way to the Spanish Village.

_So I hope that was alright. I sort of stopped it at an awkward spot. Oh well. I have started the next chapter so hopefully it will be up soon!_

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I realize this is getting kind of long and I'm not even halfway through the story... whoops. I guess that's what I get for basing this off a full-length novel. But if I didn't, I probably would never find the motivation to finish it. Anyway sorry for rambling. Here's chapter 10! Enjoy!_

**Cam**

I don't know what had changed in Claire, but whatever it was, I was in no position to protest it. I offered her a piggyback up the mountain, and when she declined I thought for sure that she hated me.

But just a few minutes later she agreed to go on the Merry-go-round with me, and my heart soared. We had a grand old time, whizzing around on swings and up and down rollercoasters. She had a genuine smile on her face the whole afternoon, instead of the forcedly polite one I'd received the last few days.

I couldn't be sure, but I got the feeling she was truly letting loose and enjoying my company, instead of just putting up with me to be polite. I loved this side of her, laughing and carefree, not worrying about anything or anyone and just being herself. It was almost like nothing had happened between us at all and we were getting a fresh start, which was exactly what I needed.

My spirits were dampened a bit as we went to join the rest of the group. I could feel her pulling away again, putting up walls to keep me out. Why was she trying so hard to keep distance between us? It wasn't benefitting anyone, especially not herself.

She and Derrick shared a long hug, and it took every bit of my rational brain to remind myself that they were just friends. That she was, in fact, _helping_ him to get another girl. I gritted my teeth and chanted _don't be jealous. Don't be jealous. Don't be jealous. _ In my head. When they pulled away, grins of pure happiness on both of their faces, I was confused and a little hurt. _Don't be jealous…_

"Hey!" Massie's voice startled me from my inner turmoil. "Wanna board the bus?" I didn't really, no, not with her, but I just shrugged my shoulders. After stealing a quick longing glance at Claire, I let Massie pull me aboard.

"How was your afternoon with Derrick?" I asked politely, and she grinned. I guess she was happy I was finally initiating some of the conversation.

"Oh, it was great," she gushed happily, "he's a cool guy. I can see why you're friends with him." She looked up at me apologetically. "Sorry I ran off, it's just like, he carried me up the hill so I thought I should hang out with him, and I couldn't find you at first, but then I mean I had fun getting to know Derrick better. Did you have a nice afternoon too?"

At this point, everyone had started getting on the bus as well. "Yea, definitely," I replied, smiling as I remembered Claire's joyous laugh, her sparkly eyes, and… I snapped out of it quickly to find Massie looking up at me expectantly. "Yea. I actually hung out with Claire a bit, which was nice. I hadn't really talked to her before," I white-lied, and Massie's eyes widened.

"You hadn't? Oh, I'm sorry! I've been so into getting to know you, I suppose I've wanted you all to myself," she gave a flirty grin. "But I guess also Claire and Derrick have been together so much too. You know, I agreed to walk around the village with Derrick when we get off the bus, and assumed you and Claire would join us and we'd all just get to know each other more than we have. But maybe you and Claire should get a chance to talk, too. I mean, she's the greatest person ever. Definitely someone to get to know. We could meet up later, at the flamenco show."

My smile widened as she said this. Here was my chance—Massie approved, no less—to get to know Claire better. I liked that Massie held such a high standard of her. It was like, Massie thought of herself as perfect in so many ways, and yet she thought of Claire as something special. Which meant it must be true.

We spent the rest of the ride in friendly small talk, and my anticipation grew. I said all the right things in my conversation with Massie, but my mind kept drifting to all the ways I could use this opportunity to make up lost ground. I could take Claire out to a romantic dinner, or maybe just take her to a nice spot where we could talk and watch the stars come out and get back to how we were that first night before everything happened…

Finally we got off the bus and Massie ran over to where Derrick and Claire were. I stood off to the side as she whispered something to Claire, who widened her eyes. Then Massie linked arms with Derrick and they turned to walk around to tour the village. Derrick shot Claire a smile over his shoulder, and she offered a small wave before they disappeared into the crowds.

Claire then turned and slowly walked over to me. Her eyes were nervous, and it frustrated me that she didn't feel like she could be as open with me as she was that afternoon.

"So…" she began hesitantly, "I guess I'm supposed to spend the evening with you." That should have dampened my mood a bit, but I don't think anything could have at this point.

"Well don't look so dejected about it," I playfully nudged her, trying to lighten the mood. "Welcome to Pablo Espanyol!" At this, I got a little smile out of her.

"So where to first?" she asked, looking around. The old village was a lifesized model of what a Spanish village would have looked like, with traditional architectural styles. It had been transformed into a tourist spot, with shops and cafes lining the streets. The buildings looked old but friendly, and the insides seemed bright with activity.

"Are you hungry?" I answered her question with another, trying to gauge the situation.

"Eh," she replied, shrugging. I realized in that moment that I saw so much of myself in her; avoiding questions with shrugs and noncommittal answers were my specialty around people I didn't particularly want to be talking to. But this afternoon had proved that she didn't truly hate me, deep down, and I was determined to bring out that fun side of her that would admit—at least to herself—that she still liked me.

We walked around town together, chatting casually and people watching. We wandered down narrow alleys and under old stone arches. I cracked a few jokes to which she responded positively, her perfect laugh ringing out clearly.

We slipped into a few craft shops, and Claire purchased a beautiful beaded bracelet. I offered to pay for it, but she just sent me a confused and borderline hurt look before quickly handing the cashier her money.

When we stumbled upon a sculpture garden, her eyes lit up completely.

"C'mon," I grabbed her hand and pulled her inside before realizing what I was doing. Once inside, she looked in awe at all the sculptures around us, not noticing or not bothering to let go of my hand. We walked slowly through the garden, and I shared what little information I knew about Spanish sculptors. She seemed impressed, even though I didn't know much.

When we left and went back onto the streets, she seemed to finally notice we were still holding hands. She looked up into my eyes searchingly before quickly releasing her hand from my grasp and blushing furiously.

"Let's get something to eat," she suggested as she stuffed her hand in her pocket. I resisted a smile; she looked so cute when she was embarrassed.

"Alright, are you thinking café or restaurant?" I asked, scanning the buildings on the immediate street we were on.

"Mmmmm, what about the café we passed earlier that looked over the Plaza?" she suggested, starting to lead the way in the right direction.

"Sure," I quickened my step to stay with her. That sounded perfect.

Over dinner we looked out on to the Plaza and saw people come and go, even some of our classmates. We talked about trips we'd gone on as children and where we most wanted to travel to in the future. Claire mentioned feeling lucky to be on this trip because Greece was high up on her list, but for some reason I couldn't get myself to say how wonderful it was there and that I'm part Greek. I couldn't stop thinking about how easy it was to talk to Claire. I could visibly see her relax over dinner, and we fell into comfortable conversation. I realized that I hadn't even been thinking about what to say or how to make her open up, and I hadn't been holding back thoughts, like I constantly found myself doing around Massie. Everything about Claire made me feel comfortable, and everything about her made me smile.

After dinner the sky had started to darken a bit, but the village was even more bustling. We visited shops around the Plaza and poked our way down some side streets, admiring the different styles of architecture.

As we sat on a bench we found along the side of one of the streets, I couldn't help being in awe of her natural beauty. She barely wore any makeup, but in the dusky light she truly was one of the prettiest sights I'd ever seen. It almost made me want to paint a picture of her, to capture the moment.

She was going on about something her younger brother Todd did once that got him in major trouble even though everyone had thought it was hilarious, but as hard as I tried I could not tear my eyes away from her lips. They were slightly parted and moved as she spoke, and every once in a while they slid into a soft smile.

As usual, she felt my intense gaze and turned to look at me questioningly. I was embarrassed, but at this point I might as well go for it, right? I leaned in slightly, but all I saw was confusion in her eyes. When I leaned in quite a bit further, her expression changed to shocked, then embarrassed, then scared.

"Cam, what are you doing?" She asked, our faces just inches apart. I just kept my gaze fixed right into her eyes. "No," she said, shaking her head and moving away a little, but not that far. "I can't do this," She mumbled, so quietly that I almost missed it. Disappointment flooded me, but I backed away to give her some space.

"Sorry, Claire. I just—" I stopped short, not knowing how to explain what had overcome me.

"Cam, I'm flattered. I think. Actually, I'm not sure. Anyway, the bottom line is, you like Massie, and she likes you and I'm," she paused, uncertain. "I'm with Derrick?" It came out as a question, though I knew it wasn't meant to. At least it confirmed that she wasn't really into him.

"Cut the crap, Claire," I snapped, hopefully managing to sound angry without being harsh. "I know you are just pretending to be with Derrick to help him get Massie. Guys talk too, you know." The blush was back, but this time more ashamed and humiliated.

"S-so?" She stuttered, just barely. "Ok, so you're right. I have no romantic interest in Derrick. He's just the coolest guy I've ever met, that's all. But Massie still likes you as of right now, and I don't want to hurt her feelings." My fists clenched when she said he was the coolest guy she'd ever met, but loosened when it registered that she didn't like him. "And you like her. I think. Anyway," I wanted to interrupt but she sensed it and rushed ahead, "I don't even—I don't even like you." She said it with such conviction that I pulled away, hurt. But as she hurriedly got up to walk away from me, my eyes followed her retreating form and all I could think was _who is she trying to convince?_

**Derrick**

I sat next to Massie at the flamenco show, watching her watch the dancers and their colorful costumes and complex movements. It had truly been a perfect day, and I owed it all to Claire. I hoped she had an equally good day, but the way she and Cam boarded the bus separately and didn't sit next to each other led me to think otherwise. I would have to ask Cam about what happened later, but I wasn't about to give up my time with Massie to do so.

The show was wonderful and exciting and all that, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what had really happened. I was just so excited that Massie was finally giving me the time of day, in fact, she had arranged it so that we would be spending the evening alone. Ok, so maybe her real motive was to allow Cam and Claire to get to know each other, but still. She didn't mind spending time with just me.

I kept having to remind myself of Claire's instructions. She said it was important to not try and make any moves today; I had to just get friendlier with Massie and have her intrigued enough to want to keep hanging out with me, even if just as friends. It would take time, Claire had said, for her to let go of her attraction to Cam, and until she did, she would be scared away by any romantic advancements. It made sense, but I didn't have to like it.

We left the flamenco show to head to the Magic Fountain, and I couldn't resist smiling at Massie's enthusiasm as she gushed about how fun the show had been. As we pulled up, I could see the colorful lights and dancing water and could barely contain my excitement.

"Excited much?" Massie asked, a playfully teasing smile on her face.

"You betcha," I said, and cringed internally at me cheesy word choice. But it made her giggle, so I didn't worry.

"Then let's go!" She exclaimed, now equally as enthusiastic.

We piled off the bus and rushed right to the edge of the fountain. Our classmates were close behind us, I could tell. I watched, mesmerized, as the water changed color and shape, shooting high in the air above us.

Massie let out a soft "woah" as the water jets changed once again. I grinned, sharing the sentiment. It truly did seem magical, and I couldn't believe I was witnessing it with such an amazing girl.

I watched the fountain change for a while, speechless, until I heard Mr. Myner call out a five minute warning to our group. It broke me from my trance, and I turned to face Massie. To my surprise, she was looking at me! I met her gaze, and she just looked into my eyes as though she was trying to figure something out. She slowly bit her lip, and it took everything I had not to change my expression. That was one of the most attractive things I'd ever seen a girl do. I suddenly had the urge to kiss her, but I knew I had to follow Claire's advice. It was just… she almost looked like she wanted to kiss _me!_ I just kept gazing into her eyes, but soon she shook her head, nearly imperceptibly, and turned back to the fountain for the last two minutes we were there. I sighed to myself and did the same, trying not to think what the hell just happened as I enjoyed the magic of the fountain before boarding the bus again to return to the boat.

_Alrighty. Hope you enjoyed that! I don't quite know what will happen next chapter yet, so it might not be updated supersoon, although I'll try. And I'm also open to suggestions! They'll be somewhere in France (in the itinerary from the last chapter, can't remember off the top of my head) so if you've been there, tell me about it! I know my descriptions of places suck, cause I've never been to any of them. Anywayyyyy let me know what you think! And smile!  
><em>

_Hugs, Sky_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey guys, my sincerest apologies. I know it's been forever since I updated this. I really need to re-check the book out from the library to remember what happens next, so hang in there with me. Also, do you guys think I'm screwing up the timing? I just realized mid typing this chapter that they've only been on the boat for 4 days and so much has happened... Anyway. Please enjoy!_

**Massie**

It was after breakfast and Claire and I stood by the rail on the main deck, breathing in the fresh sea air and chattering about France. Spain I had been psyched to see, but France was a different type of excitement, because I'd never been there before. Sure, I'd stopped in the Paris airport once or twice, but that barely counted. My parents had always promised that someday they'd take me to St. Tropez to cross France off my travel list, but it hadn't happened yet. I was hoping a romantic country like France could get things going again with Cam before I had time to think about whatever had happened last night with Derrick.

I honestly wasn't sure what had happened. It was like, one minute things were great and I was finally getting to know him as more than a perfect guy for Claire, and the next, I wanted to kiss him. The feeling had passed ever so briefly, but I couldn't help wondering about it. I really liked Cam. He was drop dead gorgeous, the sweetest guy I knew, and a great kisser to boot. Not much of a conversationalist, but that wasn't _too_ big of an issue…

And then there was Derrick. Goofy, adorable, outgoing, loyal Derrick. He was totally the kind of guy Claire should like, and it seemed like she did. Maybe not as more than friends… yet. I decided in that moment that I wouldn't let a brief lapse in judgment keep me from my goal of getting them together, and it wouldn't get in the way of what Cam and I had. It had just been late and I was tired and it was a romantic and magical setting and Derrick had been there and Cam had not. That's all. No biggie.

"I dunno, Mass, I'm not feeling too well today," Claire was saying, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was clutching her stomach, and her face did look a little green. The boat had been rocking a little more than normal, and I guess it had affected her. I did my best not to crinkle my nose in disgust.

"Here, let me… let me help you down stairs. You should probably stay in today, you look really queasy…" I tried my best to be supportive, and she just nodded. I grabbed her arm and helped her back to our room. On the landing for the teacher's deck we bumped into Ginnah.

"Hey Ginnah," I greeted, "Claire's not feeling to great today, so I think she's gonna sit this one out."

"Oh, Claire honey, I'm sorry," Ginnah replied sounding truly apologetic. Claire had that effect on teachers; they always believed her when she said she felt sick, or if she missed a homework assignment (which happened, like, once). So there was good reason for Mr. Myner to trust her, but even Ginnah seemed to have fallen for her good girl charms. And she thought _I_ had it easy with the teachers? She didn't even have to bat an eyelash.

Ginnah was wrapping up telling Claire the best ways to get over nausea when I tuned back in.

"You take care, alright? The boat will be docked for a while, and it seems to be pretty calm out now. We'll be back by six tonight. If you feel better, you have the itinerary. Meet us anywhere along the road. I trust you. Massie, you take Claire downstairs, and then meet us upstairs in ten minutes. Feel better," She waved, and headed up to the main deck.

"How do you do it?" I asked playfully, but Claire just glared at me.

"Maybe I'm actually sick!" She snapped, and I let it go. I suppose she must be if she was acting this way; she was never snappy, ever.

"Okay, well, here we are," I mumbled as we reached our room.

"Thanks," she mumbled back, sounding apologetic. I brought the trashcan over to near her bed.

"Get some rest," I reminded her as she climbed into bed in her PJs. She just nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. I shut the door as quietly as I could before going to rejoin everyone to go into Perpignan.

"Hey, Massie," Derrick grinned broadly when I emerged from the staircase.

"Hey," I casually waved back, and he pulled me into a quick hug once I got to him.

"Where's Claire today?" he asked, looking around. Were we really that inseparable? Yea, ok, we definitely were.

"Um, she's not feeling well this morning. Seasickness or something? Said she was gonna stay in today," I explained, surprise when a brief look of curiosity crossed his face.

"Let's head down to the dock," Derrick suggested, gesturing.

"Yea, definitely," I nodded and followed him, but I was looking around for Cam. I really had hoped to spend some time with him today.

**Cam**

When I overheard Massie saying that Claire was feeling sick today, I got the crazy idea to stay behind and keep her company. But I would have to get away before anyone saw me, so I slipped back downstairs to my room and texted Derrick my plan.

**Cam:** Hey man, I'm gonna stay behind and try to comfort Claire. Cover for me?

**Derrick: **Of course. But are you so sure that's a good idea?

**Cam:** No. But I'm going to do it anyway.

**Derrick: **Haha, alright. Good luck!

I waited until I was sure that everyone was off the boat, and then waited ten minutes more, just in case. Finally I got off my bed and made my way down the hall to Claire and Massie's room. I knocked a couple of times, but there was no answer. I thought maybe she was asleep, but tried the doorknob anyway. Surprised to find it unlocked, I slowly opened it.

I glanced around the room and saw that both beds were empty; one was made impeccably and one just had the covers pulled up, as if whoever left it had been in a rush. The trashcan was where it was supposed to be, under the desk by the door. What was going on?

"Looking for Massie?" A voice behind me nearly made me jump out of my skin.

"Oh, hey Claire," I greeted her, my cheeks burning. After a beat I realized her hair was wet and she was in nothing but a towel, shower caddy in hand. Well, that can go on my list of most embarrassing moments…

"What are you doing here?" She asked, partly curious, but mostly just cold.

"Uhm, I am, uh…" _looking for you_, I wanted to answer, "what are you doing here?" I asked back, flustered.

"I asked you first," she replied childishly, her eyebrows raised.

"Well. I was seeing if anyone else was on the boat still?" I answered lamely.

She rolled her eyes and pushed past me into their room. "Yup, I'm here. No, I'm not sick. Yes, I lied to Ginnah and told her I was. Yes, I feel horrible about it. No, I don't want you here right now. No, I can't even find it in me right now to say thanks for checking up on me. Yes, it's time for you to go. Go see Perpignan!" The door shut in my face.

Well, ego bruise right there. But it only made me more determined to make things right with her. She clearly was not pleased with me after the events of the previous night, but

I was almost tempted to get off the boat and join the group, as I loved the smaller places and thought this would be a cool place to tour. But instead I went to my room and pulled out my sketchbook and colored pencils, and sat on the very upper deck to draw the view.

I don't know how long I was up there, but I knew my sketch was coming out really well. I had gotten just the right color for the sky, and the scenery just blended really well on paper.

Suddenly I heard the deck below me creak. Looking over the edge, I saw Claire walking across the deck in a very attractive baby blue bikini, but she didn't see me. She had her iPod in hand, and the notebook I saw her writing in on the very first day. I wonder if she was starting a new song, or continuing the one she'd been working on then. She laid out on a chaise on the far side of the boat from where I was, so I turned my attention back to my drawing, stealing peeks at her every once in a while.

**Derrick**

I laughed as I go Cam's text messages; that was totally the type of thing that he would do. I had wondered if Claire was staying in on purpose to avoid him, after what he told me went down the night before. I hoped he was making progress.

I took the opportunity to hang out with Massie. She was totally confusing though… one minute she was laughing at all my jokes and the next she was blocking me out.

I got a chance to catch up with Josh and Plovert which was nice, and we at lunch with the girls, talking as a group. I caught Massie looking at me a few times, but she always blinked, or slowly moved her gaze elsewhere so as not to make it obvious.

I impressed the group by ordering lunch in French, and even flirted with a few pretty French girls, just for fun. I wasn't into them at all like I was with Massie, but as far as I was concerned, she still liked Cam. So I figured it was ok to have a few laughs.

When we got to the Le Palais des Rois de Majorque, Massie escaped to go explore it with the girls, so I wandered around with Plovert and Josh. We didn't really look at the place at all; we just wandered through, chatting. We walked by Ginnah and Mr. Myner once and pretended to be interested in the palace, but we shouldn't have bothered. They were too busy flirting to even notice us. The boys and I shared a glance, unsure of what was going on. We were pretty sure this was the first time Ginnah had ever been sociable with a guy in her life.

We walked past a small room with amazing windows, and I did a double take. Massie was in there alone, staring up at the stained glass. I told the guys I'd catch up with them later, and slipped quietly into the room.

Not quietly enough, apparently, because she turned around quickly.

"Oh, hey there, Derrick," her expression softened.

"Hey! Wow, this is amazing," I commented, looking around at how the light danced in colors through the window.

"Yeah," she replied softly, nodding. It was pretty much the only time I'd seen her thoughtful and quiet this entire trip.

"So what's up? Where are Alicia and Dylan?"

"Mmmm, I wanted to be alone. It's beautiful in here. I was… well, I was kind of hoping Cam would come and find me here. I haven't seen him all day," she replied. I think maybe my heart dropped when she said that. Ok, actually that's being a bit over-dramatic and girly, but yea. Claire had warned me that Massie was still into Cam, and I had assured her that I wouldn't rush the process. But still… it was hard to take.

"Yea, I haven't seen him much today either," I threw out casually as I brought out my camera to try and capture the beauty of the window.

"Can you imagine doing something amazing enough to get a stained-glass window made with your picture in it?" I asked after a couple failed attempts with the camera. The light was just only something you could see in person.

She giggled and shook her head. "No, I've never thought about that," she replied, her serious mood gone. We left the room together and walked around until it was time to board the boat for dinner. We had a great time again, but the mood had changed. Massie was not only keeping me at a distance mentally, but spatially as well. As we boarded the boat, I made a mental note to discuss this with Claire later.

**Claire**

Ok. I admit it. I am a better actress than often given credit for, and managed to fool even Massie into thinking I was sick. I just needed a day off from seeing Cam. His actions last night confused me to no end, and I spent half the night tossing and turning over his intent. So this morning, when I woke up, I was too tired to sight see and trudge around the city, even if I would regret missing our first stop in France.

Still, once everyone was gone, I was grateful for the silence and a moment alone. I crawled out of bed and went to take a shower at the bathroom down the hall. Feeling refreshed afterwards, I nearly skipped down the hall back to my room, looking forward to a peaceful day alone, until I saw someone standing in the doorway to our room, the door open wide. My first instinct was panic, but then I realized it was just Cam, and got mad. What was he doing there?

I lashed out at him a bit and slammed the door in his face before flopping down on my bed. I didn't know what he had been here for, so I covered all the bases. What was his problem? Why did he think it was ok to be all nice and sweet with Massie one minute, and then trying to convince me he liked me the next? Hadn't he ever heard of girl code? Or forgetting that, just plain morals? No girl in her right mind goes after her best friend's crush, no matter what he says. Especially not if he is a douche.

After a while of just staring at the ceiling, not even thinking about anything, I decided to venture up onto the main deck. I would just pray that Cam had taken my advice and gone to join the group, and go work on my song. I figured since the words I'd been working on just didn't seem to fit, I could write new lyrics about this boat trip but keep the same tune I loved.

As I reached the top landing of the stairs, I froze a moment and silently cursed, because Cam was sitting on the small upper deck and… writing something? I couldn't quite tell what he was doing, but he often looked up and stared at the shoreline.

I shrugged before sliding on my shades and stepping out of the stairwell into the sun and making my way to the set of chairs Massie and I had sat in on the first day, pretending I hadn't seen Cam at all. I refused to let him bother me. I settled into the lounge chair and drifted off into music-land for the rest of the afternoon.

_So. There's chapter 11. Things still aren't worked out, but what can I do? Actually, I guess since I'm the author I could make it all work out next chapter, but where would be the fun in that? Haha. Alsoooo I wrote a oneshot for Ana's birthday, if anyone feels like checking it out. But it actually might suck. I'm not fishing for compliments here, I honestly can't decide if I feel like it's decent, or if I absolutely hate it. But. I suppose that isn't good advertising. Anywayyyyy sorry for rambling. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but no promises._

_I hope you all have an amazing fourth of July weekend! (or, you know, just an awesome weekend for those of you outside the U.S. I think it is so cool that this story has international readers!)_

_Hugs, Sky_


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey guys! My sincerest apologies for being such a major slacker. I know I haven't updated this story in for_ever_ (still haven't rechecked it out of the library...whoops), but bear with me, because I PROMISE I have not abandoned it. Here's a quick chapter to tide you over. I just wrote it real quick to get something up, I know it's not the best. Hope you enjoy anyway..._

**Derrick**

"I _know_ it's hard to understand," Claire repeated herself for the third time, "but I promise you, this is a good thing."

I was still so confused, but I nodded anyway. She let out an exasperated sigh, seeing right through me.

"Ok. So you say she's keeping you at a distance, right?"I nodded. "And before, when you were hanging out just in a friendly way, she was totally open with you and not at all awkward, correct?" I nodded again. "Soooooo that means she is realizing that maybe she is starting to like you, but she thinks she's not supposed to, so she's backing off a bit."

That made sense, and a smile started to form until I realized that she thought she wasn't supposed to like me.

"So, how do I let her know it's okay to like me? Why does she think it's not?"

"Well," she hesitated for a second before returning to all-knowing Claire, "it's like this. She still thinks she likes Cam, so she almost feels like liking you is cheating. Also, she still thinks we might be together, so she doesn't want to break that up." After a quick glance at my facial expression, she was quick to add, "I'll definitely set her straight about that, don't worry. But she has to come to her own conclusions about how she feels about Cam, otherwise it won't work. I know it's hard, but you just have to wait it out."

I let out a groan, but I knew she was right. I just wish Massie would hurry up and realize that there was no way she and Cam were right for each other. Speaking of…

I looked over to her, but she was leaning up against the railing, staring up into the starry sky. We had snuck out of the Ocean documentary early. She promised she was a pro at Marine Biology and would fill me in, but I doubted they would quiz us or anything.

"Well, what about you and Cam?" I asked, feigning cluelessness. She saw right through me, as she dragged her eyes from the sky and fixed me with an are-you-kidding-me? gaze.

"Like I don't know that you guys talk," she gave a small eyeroll. "Cam told me last night that he knows we're4 not actually together or anything. I don't know what's up with that guy. He practically broke into my room this morning. Tell him to stop trying so hard, would you? That ship has sailed."

I nearly laughed out loud at the determined look on her face. It was clear that she was trying to convince herself more than anyone.

She was doing me a solid by guiding me through this whole Massie thing; I would be so lost without her help. I just wished there was some way I could help her understand that Cam really did like her and was the farthest thing from the type of guy that would purposefully play head games.

**Massie**

Sitting in the darkened yellow lounge with Cam was both nice and aggravating. I hadn't seen him all day, so it was nice to be cuddled on a couch, but I wish we were somewhere that wasn't watching a documentary… I felt like we needed to talk. On the other hand, though, I didn't know how to bring up "us". He clearly was somewhat into me, or else he wouldn't have his arm draped around me right now, but I was used to guys being a lot more obvious with their affection. I'd had boys fawning over me since they stopped believing I had cooties, and I sort of wished Cam would be more like that.

Hanging out with Derrick recently had made me wonder if I was painting a better picture of Cam in my head than he actually was. Derrick was the perfect mix of adoring me but not overwhelming. I was so glad we had become friends. I was especially glad that we could talk about nearly everything. But earlier today I had realized that the way Derrick treated me was the way I wished my relationship with Cam was. Derrick was sweet, and hilarious, and a good listener. He made me feel comfortable, instead of always on edge. It wasn't like I could just ask Cam to be more like Derrick…

As we exited the yellow lounge after the documentary finished, I saw Derrick and Claire leaning up against the railing on the far side of the main deck, cracking up about something. I heard Cam mumble under his breath "that should be me". I looked up at him, and a faint blush crept on his cheeks.

I was ecstatic that he seemed to come to the conclusion on his own that he needed to act more like Derrick, so I gave him a nice long kiss goodnight before heading back to my room. Claire came in a moment later, much more subdued than I'd seen her moments before, but nothing could ruin my good mood as I drifted off into one of the best sleeps I'd had since boarding The Dreamer.

**Claire**

This was why Derrick was my best guy friend: he always knew exactly how to cheer me up and get my mind off Cam. I was grateful that he cared more about making me laugh when I needed it most than he did about going along with Cam's twisted plans.

I didn't know what to make of Cam, not at all. He was a nice enough guy, sure, but when I sat down and really thought about how I felt towards him that first night, I realized that at the time when I liked him the most, I knew next to nothing about him. As I got to know him more, I liked him less. He didn't seem to know what he wanted between me and Massie, and while I sometimes settled for Massie's seconds, I didn't feel like being a second choice myself. And anyway, at this point I couldn't really trust anything he said.

The doors to the yellow lounge burst open and our classmates streamed out. I kept my focus on Derrick, but he side-glanced towards the door the whole time, probably to see Massie. He was so whipped, and I couldn't help smiling at him. That is, until his face froze.

Following his gaze, I looked over to see Massie lean in and trap Cam in a passionate kiss. I could tell the initiation was 100% her, but after that, it was hard to tell. Cam looked pretty into it himself…

Not my problem. I didn't care if Cam wanted to kiss her. But I did have a borderline-depressed Derrick to deal with before heading to bed, so I threw my focus into that.

Once the deck had cleared out and we were up in the small deck, I put my hand on my shoulder.

"Ok. To assess the situation, I need to know what was happening before they kissed." I spoke quietly and calmly, hoping to calm him down a little.

"Right. Well," he looked off into space for a few moments before responding, "Cam was staring at us. Massie was glancing between him and us. Cam said something, I think, and then she smiled really big and just went in for it. You saw that part," he shook his head sadly.

I took a deep breath, analyzing the new information.

"Ok, Derrick, all is not lost here. First of all, let's remember that we already knew that Massie was trying to convince herself she still should be with Cam. Yea, it sucks that you had to see that, but it's not entirely unexpected. Also, she is the one who ended it. Just don't think on it too much, alright? This is going to work out for you, I'm nearly sure."

Call it a best friend's intuition, but somehow I just _knew_ that she had only kissed him because of whatever he had said. Maybe I'd have to suck it up and be nice to him to find out what exactly they'd been talking about, or maybe I would just get Derrick to do it for me.

I stumbled down to bed thinking hard about what my plan should be for the following day.

**Cam**

I have no idea what just happened. One second I was watching Claire and Derrick laughing together, then I was mumbling aloud thoughts that I'd meant to only think, and then Massie was attached to me and I didn't even know why. I'm ashamed to say I probably kissed back a bit, but at this point I was so discouraged about my chances with Claire that it almost didn't matter.

Seeing her with Derrick, all I could think was that _I_ should be the one making her laugh, seeing her twinkling eyes up close, doing everything I could not to just grab her and kiss her. But after that afternoon, I didn't have too much hope that things would turn around. She hadn't noticed me once when I was painting and she was songwriting, and she disappeared before I could talk to her before dinner.

But once Massie pulled away and gave me a smile before heading down to her room, I knew I might have just nailed my own coffin. There was nearly no way Claire and Derrick hadn't just seen that. I just hoped that Derrick would recognize that she had initiated it, and that Claire… well, it was a lot to ask to hope she'd ever talk to me again.

Sighing, I trudged down the stairs to our room, with only one thought in mind: life sucked.

_So! That's that. I haven't started the next chapter yet, but I'll try to have it up within a week (no promises though). Thanks to _Thuggylovesreadn_ and _Alicetheoneandonly_ for motivating me to get a chapter up for this story! Anywayyy hope everyone is enjoying summer, and if all goes well I'll have a new chapter up soon. Smile!_

_Hugs, Sky_


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey guys! Sooo... please don't hate me! I know I haven't updated this in forever. Here's a quick filler for ya to hopefully tide you over until I can come up with something more substantial. Anyway, here's chapter 13:_

**Claire**

For the second night in a row I couldn't sleep. I tried to use the time wisely to form a gameplan for the next day, but my thoughts kept drifting to Cam. I knew I shouldn't care about him, but I couldn't help it. As hard as I was trying not to, and as easy as it was to fool everyone, I was still falling for him. Why did this happen to me, of all people? I am generally the nice, happy-go-lucky, rule-follower, so why did I get cursed with falling for the worst guys?

He was confusing, indecisive, and untrustworthy. All of which yelled RUN AWAY! But when he wasn't busy reminding me what a douche he was, I overlooked his flaws. Which could prove to be dangerous.

The kiss he shared with Massie ran through my mind when my eyes were closed, which may have contributed to the momentary insomnia. What was he thinking, trying to kiss me one night and then kissing her the next. Maybe he was just desperate and/or horny. I just wish… well, I tend to paint this perfect picture of my crushes in my head, and they end up totally differently. If only Cam was the great guy I liked to think he was.

As I finally fell into a deep sleep, I dreamt of a world where he was a good guy and worthy of all the time I spent trying to figure him out.

**Massie**

Being with the new Cam was lightyears better than the old broody one. Just through the duration of breakfast alone he turned more and more into my dream guy. He cracked jokes with Derrick and was much more outgoing. He came up with fun conversation topics instead of expecting me to do all the work. And there was some sort of… life in him that hadn't been there before.

Claire was sort of introverted all through breakfast, and I thought about asking what was wrong, but I didn't want to bring down the mood. Also she was probably just tired; I'd heard her tossing and turning when I woke up early this morning. She just sat next to Derrick with her head on his shoulder, her eyes drifting closed every now and then. They looked so comfortable together, it made me smile.

They were so cute together, and knowing Derrick was as good as locked up would keep me from ever having momentary insane lapses of wanting to kiss him… I hoped.

Things were finally working out the way I planned. The four of us as best friends, being envied by everyone else on the boat and having the time of out lives.

**Cam**

After breakfast Derrick and I trudged down to our room to get ready for the day. I couldn't decipher his expression, but then again I couldn't even figure out how I was feeling. Breakfast had been different and slightly weird. I had been trying to prove to Claire, and myself too I guess, that I can be a fun person. But my efforts went slightly unnoticed, as Claire was falling asleep the whole time.

I hated the world sometimes. Of course it would happen that most girls liked me, but the one time I really like a girl, I'm not able to show her the real me. The universe was conspiring against me on this one, and I was torn between giving up and going all in.

I had a promise to keep with Derrick though; I had to make sure Massie realized he was the right girl for her by the end of the trip. I had no problems with that and almost hoped he'd hurry up with the wooing. As much as I didn't want to be mean to her, she was at the point where her actions would be getting on my nerves even if Claire didn't exist.

The biggest problem I had with the situation was that she was seeing me at all my worst moments and none of my best. I never would have kissed Massie voluntarily the first night, and every time I tried to woo Claire, an unfortunate incident with Massie would occur shortly thereafter. And when I tried to be the cool and unconfused guy I usually was, she was falling asleep on my best friend's shoulder. Just great.

**Derrick**

I was trying to give Cam some advice about Claire, but not only was he not listening, I don't think that he was even aware that I was talking to him.

Finally his ears picked up as I was saying "… her decide she wants you. And then go for it. If you keep going after her, she'll keep avoiding you. Work a little absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder on her." I reworded Claire's advice to me, seeing as I wouldn't have known how to deal in the situation otherwise. His eyes widened in that way where he was actually processing what I just said, so I rushed to add, "staying away from any romantic contact with Massie will allow Claire to realize she wants you sooner."

"Don't worry, man, I do not want Massie to kiss me ever again!" He said, almost sounding angry, which forced me to hold back laughter. If only Claire would open her eyes and realize she needed to give this guy a second chance.

As we left the room to meet everyone on the main deck, Cam still looked like the wheels in his brain were turning. I only wondered what he could be up to.

"Hey!" I was greeted with a hug from Claire, looking much more chipper than she had at breakfast. I pulled her in closer and whispered in her ear, "so, what's the plan for today, oh wise one?"

She pulled back quickly, a semi-stricken look across her face. I guess she never ogt around to thinking of something.

"Don't worry about it, we'll just play it by ear today. No big deal," I felt her relax and wondered if the tide might be changing in terms of which of us was more in charge. I realized that if I was gaining any sort of say in how we would go about Operation: Make Massie Realize She Likes Derrick (or MMRSLD), I might be able to secretly work at getting her to like Cam.

_I know it was short. I'm sorry. And probably really repetitive of earlier chapters. Double sorry. And I'm triple sorry that I haven't been reading any of your stories lately :/ I hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer though, and those of you who have started school again, hope the new school year is great!_

_Hugs, Sky_


	14. Chapter 14

_So, if you completely forgot this existed, I don't blame you. Sorry it's been so long. On to the story..._

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><p>**Cam**<p>

We all crowded around the deck to disembark into Marseille, and I did everything in my power to not even glance in Claire's direction. She probably did need space to figure out what she wanted; since when was Derrick good at giving advice about girls?

To distract myself, I tried to remember the schedule that had been slipped under the door the night before. I think it looked something like this:

_**The Dreamer**_

Day 3

9:00: Wake up!

9:30: Breakfast

10:30: Basilique Notre Dame de La Garde

11:30: Palais du Pharo

12:30: Walk around Old Port (please buy lunch!)

2:30: Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne

3:30: Aix en Provence (explore & please buy dinner!)

8:30: Board bus back to ship

9:30: French music party in the green lounge

11:00: Sweet Dreams! (Tomorrow: Genoa & Pisa!)

Day 4

9:00: Wake up!

9:30: Breakfast

10:30: Cattedrale di San Lorenzo

11:30: Galleria Nazionale

12:30: Explore the Main Square and Fountain (please buy lunch!)

1:30: Biosfera

2:30: Casa della Famiglia Colombo

3:30: Board ship to Pisa

4:30: Leaning tower

5:00: Battistero (optional)

6:00: Piazza dei Cavalieri (please buy dinner!)

8:30: Back to the boat

9:00: French desserts buffet, historical slideshow (optional)

11:00: Sweet dreams! (Tomorrow: Rome)

I was really excited for this day. I hadn't been to France yet; staying on the boat the day before didn't count. Marseille had some really cool buildings and a fun port, but I was most looking forward to the trip to the nearby city of Aix en Provence. The last time I'd gotten to walk around a city with the open squares and great architecture, I'd really screwed it up with Claire. I needed to create a better memory to associate small, cool, European cities with.

Massie came over to talk to me and I did my best to laugh and joke with her as we got off the boat. I knew I must have been doing a good job because she was laughing the whole time, but my heart just wasn't in it. Even if I hadn't been watching Derrick's back, even if I didn't have a massive crush on Claire, I probably wouldn't have jumped at the chance to be with Massie. She was undeniably gorgeous and generally kind, but the attraction just wasn't there.

I tried to think of a way to let her know this without coming across as rude, but it was hard. I had gotten myself into a lose-lose situation: if I was rude or just generally ignored Massie, Claire would see me as a bad person, but if I spent time with Massie, Claire would keep thinking I didn't like her.

Once we hit land though, I decided to try and forget about all the complications and just enjoy myself. I was in France for the first time, and it looked gorgeous so far! I was glad to see Derrick snapping away with his camera. I let out one of those happy sighs as I took in the views, and prepared to let go and just have a nice day for once.

**Claire**

I chatted with Derrick, artfully avoiding the topic of why I was so tired this morning as we stepped off onto the dock. Massie and Cam were in front of us, talking and laughing. It was good to see him finally relax and sort of be himself. He obviously wasn't as goofy as Derrick, but at least he was proving to have a sense of humor when it really didn't seem like he did before.

It did sting a little that he had clearly warmed up to Massie, but I couldn't blame him. She was Massie Block, and I'd yet to meet one guy who could resist her.

When we arrived at the Basilique Notre Dame de La Garde, my eyes widened in awe. It was so grand. Derrick snapped a few pictures of me in front of it and Massie jumped in to one, making him grin. The inside was even more spectacular though. The high domed ceilings were gold and the marble columns were decorative. Walking through it and hear the tour guides telling interesting stories pushed the thoughts of Massie and Cam to the back of my mind for nearly the whole tour.

At some point though, I glanced over and realized that he was just as much in awe as I was. And it is rare that you find guys our age who can appreciate something like this. Some of our group had sped through the tour and were waiting outside in the sun, but I was glad Derrick stayed with me as we wandered through, even though I could tell he wasn't as engrossed as I was. Neither was Massie, although she was her usually outrageous self, chatting up the tour guides and other tourists.

Cam was sort of distancing himself from that, but I didn't know if it was because he was embarrassed, or just so wrapped up in the tour. Why did he have to be so perfect? This would be so much easier if he was just like the guys Massie usually goes for. Sighing, I focused in on what the tour guides were saying and tried to ignore all thoughts of Cam for the rest of the day.

**Massie**

The church and the palace were really cool, but I just wasn't as into them as Cam seemed to be. Instead I spent the time being outgoing and friendly with the other tourists there, making lots of new friends. Still, I was relieved when we finally were released to wander around the port for lunch. We passed a couple of restaurants before choosing a cozy café to settle into.

We started off with the normal chatter, commenting on how cool the port was and how perfectly blue the water looked. Eventually though, I sort of ran out of things to say, and he fell back into the normal routine of not making any effort to start conversation. I let it sit for a while, figuring that while we both ate our sandwiches, it probably qualified as a comfortable silence. I mean, I tended to be outrageously outgoing to navigate social situations, so it was nice to relax a little and chill out. But if this was what they called a comfortable silence, why did it feel so… uncomfortable?

I was relieved when we left the café to walk around, passing other large ships and stopping to dip our toes in the water. As we wandered back to meet the group, I saw Derrick and Claire walking with their elbows linked in front of us. Cam let out that kind of sigh where you don't even realize you're sighing, but when I looked up to see what it might be about, he was staring out to sea.

Before boarding the bus for our next destination, I playfully knocked Derrick out of the way to stand next to Claire. I wanted to hang out with her because it'd been a while since we'd toured any of the sights together. I did realize however that Cam didn't follow me over to where they were standing. I'd assumed he'd want to because obviously Derrick is his best friend, and I was pretty sure he and Claire had bonded at some point earlier. Instead, Derrick gave him a long stare before shrugging and leaving us girls alone.

"How was your morning?" Claire asked, before turning her head to where Derrick went, next to Cam.

"It was pretty good! That church was so magnificent!" I answered, knowing she was into that sort of thing and wanting to hear her take on it.

"Yea! Can you believe…" she went on about it and I listened carefully, learning a lot more about the beautiful building than I had from all the tour guides and informational signs.

**Derrick**

Cam was, for once in our young lives, relying on me for girl advice and it took all I had not to feel smug. I mean, I was getting the girl advice from the girl he happened to like, so how could I go wrong? Even if I did though, his girl advice always sucked anyway so it wouldn't be too big of a deal.

He told me as we walked around the city for dinner that he had been avoiding her all day. While back in New York I would have teased him like crazy, I knew that this trip was changing us. I knew how he felt—it was so hard being close to Massie when I knew she was still so hung up on Cam. Massie was so… perfect. But not in the way I saw most New York girls I hooked up with; she was more complex in such a way that I really wanted to get to know her. Whenever we were together she seemed to shed a layer of her outrageously outgoing skin and just be herself, which Claire said was a very good thing, but she still hadn't even stopped to think twice about me romantically, which was frustrating.

Why was this so difficult? Most of the guys and girls had paired off, so when Cam and I invited Josh and Plovert to a guys night in the city, they turned us down to hang with their girls. Just great.

We grabbed a quick dinner and then wandered around the square. Cam kept repeating how nice out it was, and how cool these European cities were and that this was by far the best one… after the first time he said it I just tuned him out, until I realized what he was doing.

"Cam, buddy, don't do this to yourself. Just _actually_ enjoy this place, ok? Don't keep comparing it to the Poble Espanyol. If you're trying to erase your bad association with that place, go back when you and Claire get married and kiss her for real or something. This is messed up, seriously. Give her a couple of days and enjoy Europe. Then in her own time she'll come around." I hadn't meant to snap, but I couldn't help it. I realized that while he passed up most of the girls who wanted him, this was the first time a girl he wanted wouldn't give him the time of day. Bad luck with one girl and he was all mopey?

He was glaring at me, and I was glaring at him, and it was like a staring contest until Cam almost walked into a lamppost 'cause he wasn't watching where he was going. We cracked up laughing, and just like that all the anger and frustration dissipated. One nod and I knew we both agreed that at this point, we had to enjoy Europe and just let the girls come to us.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! I can't promise that the next update will be soon, but I can promise it will happen at some point; I'm not dropping this story. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed the first month of school!<em>

_Hugs, Sky_


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey guys! I know, I know, I royally suck at this whole updating thing. So yea. Here's chapter 15..._

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><p>**Massie**<p>

My first thought upon waking up was _I__'__m__going__to__see__the__Leaning__Tower__of__Pisa__today!_ It has been a place I've wanted to go ever since I was little. But first we were going to go to places in Genoa, which would also be neat. I looked over to see Claire slowly open her eyes and stretch, giggling because she looked a bit like a cat.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" I chirped cheerfully, my mood brightened by the sunlight streaming through our porthole. She mumbled incoherently before wakening suddenly and throwing off the covers.

"Today is Pisa day!" She exclaimed, knowing how excited I was. I just nodded, a huge grin on my face. I had such a good vibe about today. It was starting off wonderfully.

We dressed quickly in shorts and graphic tees before heading up the stairs to breakfast, barely bothering to fix our hair. I stopped for a minute at the top of the stairs to reflect on how I kind of liked not spending so much time on looking perfect in the morning.

"Hey girls," Alicia motioned us over to a booth she was sharing with Dylan. We raced over, not worrying about commanding the attention of the room or watching our steps in heels. Well, I was in heels. Today Claire sported her signature keds.

"What's up?" Claire asked, plopping down next to Dylan. I slid in next to Alicia and waited for their responses.

"I dunno, the guys wanted to have a 'boys-only' breakfast or something weird like that," Dylan air-quoted while Alicia rolled her eyes. I glanced over at a booth across the room, where Cam and Derrick were sitting with their backs towards us. They along with Josh seemed to be listening while Plovert explained something using wild hand gestures. I giggled. The other girls glanced over as well, and within seconds we were clutching-our-stomachs laughing. I didn't make sure I was laughing daintily, and I didn't wince when I bent over and the tips of my hair grazed the floor. And in the middle of the best laughter I'd experienced in a long time, I realized something. I shouldn't need to act outrageously or extra flirty or work so hard for attention, not from teachers, classmates, or even boys. I fundamentally like who I am, and I should surround myself with others who like me for who I am—at my best and worst. For example when my face is scrunched up unbecomingly in that laughing-so-hard way, and my hair is getting all tangled, and I am nearly in the fetal position clutching my stomach, all over something as little as witnessing a funny conversation with my friends. I knew in that moment that not one of the other three girls at that table was judging me for it (not to mention they were doing the same). And I liked being able to let down my guard and still have people appreciate me.

We finally caught our breath, but my smile stayed glued on my face long after we moved on to discussing the day's plans and hearing about how great Josh and Plovert were. I saw Claire glance over and grin at my expression, but I'm not sure I could have stopped smiling if I tried. It was the kind of epiphany that made me feel so much more complete.

We finished breakfast after a few more fits of giggles, and gathered on the main deck to disembark into Genoa. The guys' meeting was over, and Alicia and Dylan ran over to join them. Claire hung back, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the group.

Once we reached them, I dropped her hand and entwined my arms with Cam's. He stiffened, and I could feel my megawatt grin dimming a bit. Still, I was going to try to stay positive and wow him with the new me. Derrick had his arm around Claire, but he shot me a grin that put me more at ease again. I let out a happy sigh and prepared to have the best day ever.

**Cam**

I know Derrick and I had agreed to let the trip play out and let the girls come to us, so I was waiting for Claire. But that agreement did not address how I was supposed to deal with Massie. I felt bad for feeling this way, but I just really didn't like her. So I copped out and just started acting really distant and uninterested. We headed to the first Cathedral and I wished I could tour it with Claire, because she might definitely have some good insight on it. She tends to know a lot about these things, whereas all Massie does is get all outrageous and buddy-buddy with other tour groups.

Instead, this time Massie seemed a lot more subdued. She was still very much… herself, but she wasn't jumping all over the place and calling the tour guide babe or anything.

"This St. John person must have been a pretty cool guy," she marveled while looking at the ceiling, and I almost laughed in surprise. The tour guide had just explained how the inside of the chapel was dedicated to him, and I agreed with Massie that it looked really neat. That didn't make me warm up to her any, though.

At the very least I could tolerate her hanging off my arm if she was being like this, but I still wished that she could be replaced with her cute and brilliant blonde best friend.

**Derrick**

Genoa had been really neat, and I couldn't help smiling at the radiant smile that just beamed off of Massie's face the whole time. My favorite part was walking through the biosfera with her and Claire and Cam, because in Spain we had split up for the botanical garden. I got some really great pictures in there. Also it was fun giving Massie a piggyback ride around the square before lunch, when she got tired. She seemed like she was being less outrageous, which was definitely something I could appreciate. It's hard to keep up a certain façade all the time, and I was really glad she was letting her guard down around me a bit more.

As of right now, we were sitting side by side on the small upper deck of the boat, her head resting on my shoulder. Cam had made himself scarce, and we could see Claire on one of the lounge chairs, scribbling away in the tattered brown notebook she had. Normally I was dying to ask Massie questions and discover more about her, but right now I was perfectly content the way we were, in a completely comfortable silence with the gorgeous ocean stretched out before us as we sped towards Pisa.

**Claire**

I was starting to get somewhere on my song, which was really nice. I placed the nearly-full notebook into one of my desk drawers and quickly re brushed my hair while Massie was in the bathroom. As she emerged, she wore a huge grin that had covered her face all day.

"So spill," I commanded playfully, arching an eyebrow.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" She asked back, a twinkle in her eye.

"What's gotten you so smiley?" I clarified, and her grin widened even more.

"Well, I just had this epiphany, where I realized that I shouldn't feel the need to work so hard to maintain my image," she explained, "It started this morning when I didn't spend that long to look good and formulated when I was laughing so hard at breakfast that I nearly snorted!" She started bouncing on her bed.

"Massie, that's wonderful!" I exclaimed, truly happy for my best friend.

We ran up the stairs once again when it was almost time to dock in Pisa. We eagerly watched the ship pull into the port and the gangplank get lowered. By that time everyone else had joined us, so we all rushed out onto land as a stampede. I guess everyone must have been as excited as Massie was to see the leaning tower.

At first Massie had her arm linked through mine, but then she spotted Derrick up ahead and tried to pull me towards him. I thought it'd be better to let her go chat him up herself; I'd seen them on the upper deck together looking adorable and figured the more she hung out with him alone, the better off everyone would be. So I unhooked my arm and told her I wasn't feeling very social but that she should go ahead, and watched with excitement as she sneaked up to him and tapped his left shoulder before popping up on his right side. I wanted to laugh out loud as he turned to look over his left shoulder before realizing that she'd tricked him. Watching them together, I could see Massie let down her guard and really embrace what she'd told me.

I was looking at them laughing together and feeling quite accomplished when someone tapped my left shoulder. Warily I turned to look over my right shoulder to see a sheepish looking Cam. Why did he have to take my breath away every time I saw him? No one deserved to be that beautiful. Maybe, just maybe, I would forgive him.

"Hey, Claire," He greeted, his hands in his pockets. "How've you been? I saw you working on your song earlier, how's it coming?"

"Fine," I answered automatically, and then wishing I'd thought of a more interesting response. So I added a shrug, which might have made it worse. He sort of looked at a loss for what to say next.

"And I've been good," I continued, "thanks for asking." I looked up at him and tried to smile, but it might have looked more like a grimace. I probably ended up sounding sarcastic instead of sincere. Great, he finally tries to be friendly to me again and I unintentionally freeze him out. Of course this would happen. We walked the rest of the way to the tower in silence, and eventually I joined up with Alicia and Dylan to tour it with. I lost track of Cam, but I was so embarrassed about how I acted that I didn't really care. All I could do was enjoy the moment and hope that he might give me another chance.

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><p><em>Again, I'm sorry. The wait was long and it's not even a stellar chapter. No promises on a quick update, but as a side note, originally their cruise was going to circle back to Morocco but as of now I'm planning to have it end in Greece. Anyway. <em>_Hope everyone had a really nice Thanksgiving! _

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey guys! I just want to give a huge thank you to those of you that have stuck with my slow updates on this story. I really appreciate it and your feedback. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

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><p>**Cam**<p>

I watched Claire from afar all evening, only pausing a minute to roll my eyes at my classmates running around and taking goofy pictures that made it look like they were holding up the tower. Some of them actually got pretty creative which I would have thought was cool if I hadn't been so preoccupied. I realized that I'd caught Claire by surprise when I'd gone to chat her up about her song, as I could practically see the shock and confusion in her eyes. So I hoped to find a better moment to hang out with her and give her a chance to talk to me when she wasn't surprised. Unfortunately I ended up having to follow her around secretly as she laughed along with Alicia, Dylan, Josh, and Plovert the whole night. If I'd stopped to think about it I would have realized I was being way creepy, but I was on a mission. At some point I lost them, and went to hang out with Kemp. We walked through the Battistero. It was pretty cool, and it was fun having guy time with Kemp again, but I couldn't focus on anything besides Claire. How is it possible for one person to completely consume your life so quickly? It had only been about a week since I met her.

After the Battistero we texted Derrick to meet up for dinner. I realized that I'd barely seen him all afternoon, but he must have been busy because he never responded. So Kemp took me to meet up with a bunch of his more jock-y friends and their girls, and I met people I'd barely even known were on the trip. On one hand that was neat, but on the other it would have been more enjoyable knowing I had Claire.

**Massie**

The leaning tower was just as magical as I thought it would be. I don't know why it is so cool, I mean I know a lot of my classmates just thought of it as an old piece of architecture that would collapse at any moment, but it was the location of one of my favorite childhood books, and for some reason I'd just always wanted to go. While everyone else left to tour the Battistero or grab dinner, having taken their pictures and whatnot, Derrick and I sat on a bench that gave perfect view of the tower and people watched. We fell in and out of conversation, commenting on crazy tourists or laughing over something one of our teachers had said, with comfortable silences in between. I could see why Claire and Derrick were so close. They both were really great people, the kind that could make me completely let down my guard. At one point I looked over at him when he wasn't looking, and my breath nearly caught in my throat. The sun had started to set, and the glow caught his profile and made him look so handsome and almost godly. I was surprised—I'd thought of Derrick as the great friend, goofy, loveable guy, but I hadn't really found him attractive before. It was like I'd been blinded by Cam the whole time, and the setting sun was showing me what really was important.

I heard angels singing in my head for a few more seconds before I quickly shook all thoughts of Derrick and his gorgeousness from my mind. Even if they weren't dating, Derrick belonged to Claire. If I took him from her, I would not only be stealing her man, but I'd be abandoning her on this trip and that was just not something she deserved. I was trying to make her happy by setting her up with Derrick, how horrible would it be to take him for myself?

He looked over at me and smiled, reaching for my hand and giving it a light squeeze before turning back and watching the crowd. I smiled back softly and resolved to do everything in my power to not let this slip past friendship.

**Derrick**

Cam texted me asking if I wanted to join him and Kemp for dinner, but pretty much nothing less than him having a heart attack or something would have pulled me away from Massie. It was the most amazing thing to be sitting there with her, basking in the light of the setting sun and watching people come and go to admire the tower. I couldn't quite tell why, but something about the tower really made Massie excited, and to see her so happy made me happy. At one point I felt her look over at me for a while, so I reached out and grabbed her hand. The smile on my face just grew as she squeezed back, almost as if she didn't realize she was doing it.

Eventually my stomach rumbled, breaking the trance and causing Massie to giggle.

"Wanna grab something to eat?" she asked, lightly pulling her hand from mine and stretching. I looked over at her, her sparkling eyes looking expectant.

"Yeah, let's go," I agreed. We found a cool little Italian Pastry shop, and I quickly bought us both something to eat before she could protest. Then I lead her right back to where we were sitting for the last two hours. "Thanks for hanging out with me today, Massie," I blurted as she unwrapped her sandwich, and then decided I had to own it. She looked up at me and tilted her head so I continued. "Yeah, I'm really glad you're starting to let your guard down around me," I continued, then watched a soft blush creep over her cheeks.

"Oh, you could tell?" She asked softly, looking down at her hands. I'd never seen her look _shy_ before.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay?" I replied, not wanting her to be uncomfortable but wishing I hadn't asked like that. Whether or not she wanted me too, I could see who she really was. And to me, knowing so many girls who were so heavily covered by what they wanted everyone to think they were, that was refreshing.

"Oh, definitely," she sat up straighter. "You're actually one of the few people I feel truly comfortable around. Thanks for that. I mean it," her sincere amber eyes bore straight into mine. As cliché as it was, I really wanted to kiss her right then. Hadn't I waited long enough? Claire said I had to wait until she realized she wanted me. Her admission was almost the same right? I took a deep breath and went for it. Leaning in, I captured her lips in a slow, sweet kiss. But when I pulled away, her expression was blank. I wanted nothing more to bang my head on the back of the wooden bench, but I figured that would be a little overdramatic, so I settled for just staring straight ahead, the mood totally changed.

After a few moments of awkward silence, I sideglanced over to see her face scrunched up, not in a disgusted way but like she couldn't decide about something. Great. Claire was right, I should have waited until she was sure…

Before I knew what was happening, Massie had pulled me towards her and was kissing me passionately. I responded instantly, not knowing exactly what was going on, but more than happy to play along.

**Claire**

"Claire? Claire!" I heard Massie calling me, so I took out my earbuds and looked to see her speedwalking across the deck to reach me. I had come back early from walking around Pisa to work more on my song. A quick look at my watch told me Massie was back a little early too. "I really need to talk to you," she said once she reached me, nervously looking around the deck to make sure no one else was there.

"Yea? What's up?" I asked, partially nervous because she seemed to be and partially just eager to hear what had her all worked up.

"Um. Well." She took a deep breath, "ImayhavemadeoutwithDerrick," she admitted incoherently, her guilty face coming on. "I am so, SO sorry!"

"Uh, well you're probably forgiven, but I have no idea what you confessed just now," I raised my eyebrows so she'd know I wasn't mad about anything.

"Oh, haha," she let out a nervous giggle, "I said, I may have made out with Derrick." Once I processed that, I could feel a huge grin instantly leap onto my face.

"Massie, that's great!" I exclaimed before chuckling at her confused expression. "Derrick and I are super close, yes, but that also means he's told me he adores you. I couldn't be happier for you two!" I explained. She let out a breath of relief.

"Wow, Claire, thanks for being so understanding! I'd never want to steal your guy, but I knew you were just friends, and he just… gets me, you know? And wow, he adores me? Wow," she rambled on, getting more excited. I'd seen my best friend fawn over plenty of guys, and get all of them. But this was different. This was special because I could tell that Derrick helped Massie realize things about herself that other guys only influenced her to suppress. And the genuine happiness radiating from her made me more than proud of how things had worked out. As she rambled excitedly about how great Derrick was, I sighed longingly and thought back to how coldly I had treated Cam earlier. If I could somehow show him I was sorry and mend whatever it was that had happened there, then this trip really would end perfectly.

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><p><em>Thanks again! I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and Happy New Year!<em>

_Hugs,_

_Sky_


	17. Chapter 17

_Hey Guys!_ _I know what you're thinking. Seriously? She expects us to still read her story after she didn't update for about four months? I'm really sorry about that, and I'm not trying to force anyone to still follow this. I can't promise the next chapter will be up that soon either (but definitely a shorter wait than this last one), but I'm determined to finish this story. Don't forget, I changed it so they'll be ending in Greece instead of back in Morocco. Sorry again for the wait, and enjoy!_

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><p>**Derrick**<p>

When I woke up to the sunlight streaming through the porthole and hitting my face, a smile instantly appeared on my face as I remembered the events of the evening before.

A rustling noise made me sit up as a piece of paper slid under our door. Cam emerged from the bathroom fully dressed with damp hair. He quickly scanned the schedule before handing it to me.

_**The Dreamer**_

Day 7

9:00: Wake up!

9:30: Breakfast

10:00: Walking tour of Historical Sites

1:30: Piazza Venezia (please buy lunch!)

3:00: St. Peter's Basilica

5:00: Free time

6:00: Board ship for dinner

9:00: _Gladiator_ in the Yellow Lounge

11:00: Sweet Dreams! (Tomorrow: Agrigento!)

Day 8

9:00: Wake up!

9:30: Breakfast

10:30: Archeological Museum

12:30: Lunch

1:30: Church of San Biagio

3:30: Valley of the Temples (bag dinners included)

8:30: Reboard ship

9:30: Karaoke in the Green Lounge

11:00: Sweet Dreams (Tomorrow: Athens!)

"Dude! What's got you so smiley lately?" Cam asked, plopping down on his bed. He had an amused look on his face, like I-think-I-know-but-I-still-want-you-to-tell-me.

"Haha, I have a lot to catch you up on," I agreed, thinking back to sitting on the upper deck with Massie the night before. "How far back do you know?"

"Just that you were too busy to join me and Kemp for dinner last night," he responded, eyebrows raised amusedly.

"Well, I spent the whole afternoon with Massie," I began, and he smirked. "And we hung out by the leaning tower, and we sort of… ended up making out. And then she freaked out and had to go tell Claire, because she was afraid she was a horrible friend. But you know Claire knew what was going on the whole time, so yea." I looked up to see his smile had gotten a little more forced, and realized that while I finally landed my dream girl, he was still struggling a bit. I'd have to work on that. "Anyway, so of course by the time I caught up with her back here everything was all settled, so we went to that upper deck and hung out for the rest of the night," I finished. I couldn't stop the goofy grin as I remembered stealing kisses between sharing stories and stargazing. It had really been perfect. I don't quite know how, but she was turning me into gush.

"I'm so glad for you, man," Cam responded, and I could tell he meant it.

"Don't worry, Claire'll come around," I assured him before going to take a quick shower, excited about seeing Massie again.

**Massie**

I snuggled up to Derrick in the booth once I was done eating breakfast. He casually slung his arm around me as he ate the last few bites of his eggs and nodded at a story Claire was telling. I loved how comfortable I felt under his arm. I fit just right.

I watched Claire quickly glance at Cam as she got to the funny part of her story, and I saw Cam half-smile to himself. It was almost so quick that I didn't notice, but it started the gears in my brain turning at top speed. Claire giggled at a playful comment Derrick made, and Cam fidgeted in his seat. Now I was really paying attention. Derrick's hand started lightly stroking up and down my arm, and Cam became still. Claire shot Derrick a confused eyebrow raise before getting up to get more food. Did what I think happen just happen? Cam let his eyes dart to watch her while her back was turned, and quickly changed the conversation to how excited he was to be in Rome. I blocked out his rambling, and focused on the matter at hand. I was a horrible friend and ended up taking for myself the great guy I'd been trying to set her up with. I could fix this though, if I could get eher to see that Cam liked her. He hadn't done anything that screamed it, but my intuition was generally pretty good when it came to these things. I could see it in his eyes. Claire returned, sliding back into the seat next to him, and I saw how cute they would look together. It was a total contrast: her white-blonde hair, his almost black. She had soft, refined features, and he looked more rugged and strong. But it definitely worked. Claire had assured me she was more than happy with the way things worked out between me and Derrick, but I still felt bad. I knew things like this were partially why she was so shy around guys. But maybe with a little help from Derrick, I could set her up with Cam. If it would make her happy, that is. After everything that happened, I owed her that much.

**Claire**

I was so excited to be in Rome. I'd always had a thing for Roman and Greek myths growing up, and standing under the dome of the Pantheon simply took my breath away. We'd already seen the Colosseum, which had a bit too gory of a history for my liking, and the Roman Forum which the whole city was originally built around. I was surrounded by marble statues of eight gods and goddesses. I slowly walked around the building, taking my time to admire each statue and read up a bit on any history I hadn't learned about yet. Every once and a while I felt like I was being watched, but if I turned around, all I'd see was Derrick and Massie being adorable and whispering to each other. Once I thought I caught Cam looking at me, but it was too quick to tell for sure. Not like he had any good reason to be looking at me, anyway. All too soon we were ushered back out into the bright sunlight and told we had an hour and a half to walk around and buy lunch. Upon hearing that I turned around and marched back into the Pantheon. I heard Massie calling after me, but I didn't feel like playing third wheel all lunch and I did feel like absorbing in the magic that was this temple since I probably wouldn't ever get the chance to come back. I sat down on a stone bench and let the light shining in from the top of the dome wash over me.

**Cam**

I'd been hoping to get a chance to talk to Claire at lunch, but she disappeared before I got the chance. I guess I wasn't very good at hiding it though, because once we were settled at a table at an outdoor café, Massie shared a knowing look at Derrick before turning to grin deviously at me.

"I happen to know, Cam, that you have taken more than a platonic interest in my dear friend Claire," she began, eyes bright with excitement. I shot Derrick a glare, the traitor. "And I am more than excited to make this happen for you. I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!" I wasn't entirely sure I wanted my fate in the hands of Massie, but she seemed genuinely excited at the thought of getting us together, and she did know Claire best out of anyone. "Now I'm not sure what you did to make her so cold to you, but I mean it might just be that I liked you and she knew you were off limits. But that's all fixed now," she fixed Derrick with an adoring look. It would have almost made me want to vomit if I wasn't so glad that it was aimed at him instead of me. I also was really glad Derrick hadn't spilled all the gory details of how I'd managed to make Claire so upset. Sure she knew she should stay away if Massie liked me, but I got the feeling that for once she was willing to go for what she wanted, and I screwed up too badly to let her. I tuned Massie out as she rambled about how great this would be, but caught enough to know she wanted me to try and get Claire alone at the Basilica this afternoon. I could do that, in fact I would have chosen to myself if I'd thought Claire would put up with me. We paid for our meal and went to meet the group, but Claire was missing. Mr. Myner looked really worried, and Ginnah was soothing him.

"I'll go get her," I volunteered, knowing exactly where she'd be. I raced away before anyone could respond, heading straight for the Pantheon. I walked up the steps and through the columns, into the temple. I spotted her right away. Her back was to me, but her hair was positively glowing from the beam of light streaming in from the ceiling. I approached her as quietly as possible, not wanting to shock her.

"Hey Claire," I whispered once I was behind her, and she whipped her head around. "Sorry to disrupt you, but it's time to head to the Basilica."

She let out a quiet sigh and stood up slowly. She took one last look around, a gentle smile gracing her lips and her eyes filled with wonder. Then she marched out of the temple ahead of me, not saying a word.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading guys! Happy Spring!<em>

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	18. Chapter 18

_Hey Guys, so I know it's been just this side of literally forever since I updated, so I'll just let you get right to the story. _

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><p>**Massie**<p>

Cam kept side-glancing at Claire as we walked around the Basilica, and it was all I could do to not go over and literally push him over to her. I would have, too, if she hadn't been all wrapped up in her conversation with the tour guide. Why was he acting so shy? I mean I knew he was quiet, but he seemed like a pretty self-confident guy in general. It was kind of cute that he seemed to like Claire enough to be scared of her, but she was the least scary person I knew. As we emerged into the sunlight and joined the rest of the group, I whispered for Derrick to go and keep Cam busy for our free time. I needed to talk to my best friend.

"Hey!" Claire exclaimed cheerfully as she approached me. I opened my arms for a hug, even though we'd hung out just that morning.

"Let's walk around," I suggested, and her eyes lit up. We'd been so wrapped up in the guys, we hadn't spent free time just the two of us in days. We started out walking with the sea of people, but eventually broke off and entered a pastry shop. We each sampled an Italian pastry and took it to eat on a bench in a park.

"So, how's Derrick been?" She asked me playfully. It was all I could do to not just gush about him for the rest of the night. Instead I talked for a while about how great we were getting along and how he really understood me, before forcing myself to turn the conversation to Cam.

"And yourself?" I asked, "It's been okay not having him to talk to all the time?"

"Yea, of course!" Claire exclaimed, like I knew she would. "I've been taking the time to enjoy Rome. You know me," she gave a little laugh, "total history nerd." I couldn't help nod in agreement.

"Huh, and I wonder what Cam's been up to," I mentioned casually, carefully watching her expression. A look I couldn't read flashed across her face, but she shrugged it off.

"I should probably talk to him at some point, I think he wanted to tell me something but he keeps approaching me at the wrong times," she offered. Well, that might explain why he was hesitant to talk to her again. I knew that if you interrupted Claire at the wrong time, she could occasionally react in a way that would make you stay away for a while.

"Welllllllll," I singsonged, "I happen to think that he likes you!" Her eyes widened and a blush crawled onto her face. She raised her eyebrows in the way she does when she's really skeptical about something. "I mean, he didn't tell me that," I rushed to add, "and I have no way of knowing for sure," I crossed my fingers behind my back, thinking of my conversation with Derrick and Cam that morning. I wanted to know if Claire even had a clue. "But I see how he looks at you, and hangs on to your every word, and tries to get your attention but fails miserably on all the tours," she giggled at this, confirming my suspicions that she'd been so wrapped up in Roman history to even notice, "none of which he ever did when I was trying to get him. I know that I failed you by taking Derrick when I meant to save him for you," I truly was sorry about it, but my giddiness at my new plan completely took over, "but you still have a chance to find a great guy on this trip in Cam. That is, if you want to!" I flashed her my most sincere smile. I was done trying to force her into relationships that I thought would make her happy. Clearly if she'd been working this whole time to help Derrick get me, a relationship with him wasn't exactly what she'd been after.

"Wow!" Claire's eyes widened and she looked like she was really thinking my words over. "You know, you're right, Cam is a pretty cool guy. I mean, he's one of the few people who've ever heard my music. And I happen to find him pretty attractive," she smirked, and I held down a grin as I watched her realize what I'd said was true. But then she just shrugged again, but this time in a more carefree way.

"Alright, I'll consider it," she offered, which coming from her was a pretty big step, "at least I'll talk to him and see if you're right that he likes me…" She trailed off, a little crease of worry in her eyebrows.

"Of course I'm right! I'm always right about these things," I scoffed, then laughed. She giggled with me and nodded.

"Alright then, when we get back on the ship we can eat with them and see. And if things look like they're going okay, I'll see if he wants to skip the movie to talk to me," she decided. Upon hearing that I could no longer keep the grin off my face. Finally, I was going to make a successful match for Claire, and help her get that happiness she deserved.

**Derrick**

Cam and I walked around Rome, snapping pictures and discussing Claire.

"And I think, well I think she'd give me a chance now if I didn't keep picking the wrong moments and screwing up!" He was saying, capping off an explanation of how he'd disturbed her at the temple and shocked her before that. It was true, his timing was not helping him out one bit. But I knew that Claire still liked Cam, I could just tell. If it hadn't been for me losing Massie that first night, we wouldn't have ever been in this Midsummer Night's Dream situation.

"Don't worry, dude. I owe you one, remember?" I watched his eyes widen as he remembered. "Massie and I will take care of this. Or at least give you a decent shot. I mean if you screw it up yourself, there's nothing I can do about it…" He punched me in the arm and we laughed.

"Thanks man. It means a lot. And I'm really glad things worked out well for you. I'm sorry I got so pissy the second one thing went wrong for me, it's just Claire is…" he trailed off, but I just nodded. I knew what he meant: at least for him, Claire was perfect.

**Claire**

I was pretty pleased with myself for pulling off the making Massie think the idea was hers act while we were in Rome. I felt a twinge of guilt, as I'd never had a reason to use my acting skills on her before, but everything would be easier if Massie never knew that Cam and I liked each other first. I mean it looked like things might straighten out, and all's well that ends well, right? That is, so long as Massie wasn't reading the Cam situation wrong again. I hoped she really did see signs that he liked me. I mean I guess I knew all along that he had, it was just so complicated to deal with at the time.

We slid into a booth, this time across from our respective boys. I took a moment to appreciate how amazing the food was before turning my attention to Cam.

Somehow, and I was grateful for it, he pretended like our last two encounters hadn't happened, or even like all of our awkward encounters never happened, and talked to me unawkwardly. We shared a lot of laughs, popping in and out of Massie and Derrick's conversation every once in a while. He was fascinated as I told him about the extent of my interest in the Greek and Roman Gods, and he actually ended up telling me that his family is part Greek. Upon hearing this I immediately perked up, and couldn't help asking him a million different questions about the culture, at which he laughed and answered good-naturedly.

As we finished up our dinner, I looked up and realized that most people had cleared out already, heading to the Yellow Lounge to watch Gladiator. Massie and Derrick were slowly getting up, saying they were headed there as well. But before I could say anything to Cam, he beat me to the punch.

"I've seen this movie, a million times. Would you like to skip it and hang out somewhere else instead?" He asked, exactly what I'd been thinking.

"Sure," I couldn't help the grin on my face, "that sounds great." We put away our dishes and said goodbye to Massie and Derrick before, without discussion, heading onto the deck and across it to the ladder. I looked up and took a deep breath, preparing myself for serious case of de ja vu. _He's being so nice! Give him a chance!_ The angel on my shoulder said. _Yea, but keep your guard up a little, in case he screws up again,_ the devil pointed out, and I sighed. It was true, Cam would have to prove himself a little more to truly win my trust back, but I was willing to give him that chance. Having decided this, I ascended the ladder and was greeted by the stars.

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><p><em>Not too many chapters left! I'm gonna miss this story, but I'm sure you guys won't really miss my horrible updatingtime management skills. Oh well, I hope everyone's been having a really great summer!_

_Hugs, Sky  
><em>


	19. Chapter 19

_Hey guys! I am SOOOO sorry about the delay on this! I promise, I will finish it this summer. Stick around at the end for an a/n but for now I'll let you get to the story!_

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><p>**Claire**<p>

It was surreal being up there on that dock again, as if nothing had happened between us. It almost erased the past week, like it was a bad dream. But I knew I couldn't let Cam out of the woods yet. I still wanted to hear what he had to say.

As if he read my mind, Cam took a deep inhale and just began spilling it all out. He started a lot farther back than I expected, explaining how he and Derrick never fight over girls in San Fransisco, since he thinks they are so shallow, and Derrick had a steady girlfriend for a while. How when he came here, he assumed it would be like every school trip, booze and hookups, which he generally tried to steer clear of. I internally nodded, realizing that sounded a lot like me on school trips as well.

He continued on about how he never meant to kiss Massie, which I was still skeptical about, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He told me about all those other times he'd tried to get my attention, from his perspective, and I started to feel bad about how dismissive I'd acted. But it was for a good reason, right?

"You have to understand, Massie still liked you at that point. I resented you for tempting me when there is no way I could ever betray my best friend's feelings like that," I explained, and he frowned.

"I never meant to cause a problem between you," he sounded incredibly sincere, "I just didn't like someone else deciding that we should be a pair without my consent. I'm really glad you were able to make her see that Derrick is the one for her, not me."

"Me too," I sighed, also pleased with my success. I looked over to see him staring at me intently, and we held eye contact for a beat longer than normal before he spoke again.

"This is going to sound really cheesy," he said softly, almost shyly, "But I knew we could have something the second I saw you scribbling away in that notebook of yours on the first day, before we even introduced ourselves. I could just tell you had more to you than the superficial girls I normally meet." I was shocked at this admission, and I could feel myself starting to blush.

"If we're being honest, I was drawn to you from the moment you and Derrick stepped onto the top deck. The only problem is that was also the exact moment Massie laid her claim," I admitted, and where most boys might become really cocky after hearing something like that, I could tell he was slightly embarrassed about it. But he just shrugged, grinned at me and placed his hand over mine before turning his head up to look at the stars.

**Cam**

Everything was going great with Claire. We were finally being open and honest with each other, which was such a relief. I hadn't realized that the reason she was so cold to me before was that she wanted to be with me and couldn't because of Massie. I could see how that would get very frustrating, and I felt bad that I wasn't clearer with Massie from the beginning that I wasn't interested, and we could have skipped ahead of this whole mess. But being up there on the upper deck, finally laughing and relaxed and with no secrets between us, was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Looking over at her illuminated by the moon, I felt more in awe of her beauty, if that was possible. It was great to see her so carefree.

"Oooh I know, show me some constellations!" She said, bright-eyed, after a short lull in the conversation. I grinned remembering how I had started to on the first night. Glad for an excuse to hold her hand, I grabbed it and guided her finger around the night sky, especially pointing out the ones relevant to Greek and Roman mythology which I now knew she was into. Good thing I could point them out with my eyes closed, because I was distracted by her wide smile the whole time.

Suddenly people started pouring out of the yellow lounge below us, I guess the movie must have finished. Claire giggles and put a finger over her lips, then sort of crouched in a ball making herself invisible to the deck below. I didn't really know why she wanted to hide, but I wasn't about to pass up a chance to get close to her. I wrapped my arms around her and drew my legs in as close to me as possible, grinning hugely as she nestled back into me. We lay there silently and I listened to her breathing until the background noise of the chatter below finally faded. Slowly she sat up, and when I met her eyes my heart sank. I could just see them closing off to me again.

"Cam, I," she paused and took a deep breath. "I really like you. And I like that we are finally straightened out about everything, and I like how comfortable you make me feel. But I don't think I can do this." She paused, and I tried to make sense of what she was saying but I wasn't quite sure. The words sounded mostly good but the tone was sad. "It's just, we only have three days left together. After that, what are the chances we'll see each other again? I just don't think I can handle getting attached to you and then having to let you go so soon." The full weight of her words hit me. _What is that saying? It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?_ On the other hand, I saw her point. I mean, I just finished explaining how I'm not about hookups on school trips. But Claire was something special! Suddenly the stars seemed overwhelming, making us seem so small.

"Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't hang out, and make the most of these next two days," she continued, giving my hand a light squeeze, "and of course I'd like to get to know you more. I just don't think I could handle being together for such a short time."

Her clear blue eyes were wide and imploring, hoping I would understand. Unfortunately that only made me wish I could kiss her, something that was no longer an option. I forced myself to tear my eyes from hers and I looked down at my lap.

"I understand, Claire," I answered, "and I respect that. I have to say that didn't occur to me, but I can see that situation being difficult as well. I guess I was just so wrapped up in the thought of finally getting to be with you that I didn't consider the downsides. Friends?" I held out my hand and she shook, a sad smile on her face.

She was no longer leaning against me, and I missed it. We continued talking, about what we would do when we returned home, and it was strange. It was still very comfortable and the conversation flowed easily, but a faint sense of disappointment hung in the air. I wondered if she felt it too.

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><p><em>SO! I just graduated from high school and was super busy (I know, excuses, excuses), but I am now going to focus on finishing this story! The next chapter should be up within the week. Chances are after the summer I won't be on here anymore, so I'm going to try to write as much as I can before then. Feel free to commission me with one-shot prompts or ideas. <em>

_I hope everyone's summer is off to a great start!_

_Hugs,_

_-Sky_


	20. Chapter 20

_Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you. I took out one of the places on their itinerary because when I looked it up again it wasn't actually in the same location that they were supposed to be... whoops. Anyway, enjoy!_

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><p>**Massie**<p>

My sleep was disturbed by the flashing blue light of my phone, indicating someone had texted me. I squinted, peeking at the screen, to see that it was from Derrick.

**Derrick**: Come to my room. Don't bring Claire.

Normally this late at night I would interpret that as a booty call, but Derrick didn't seem like that kind of guy. The instruction to not bring Claire made me think this must be about Cam, which intrigued me. All Claire would say when she came back to the room was how they had a great talk but decided to just be friends. While that made me slightly disappointed, I could understand her hesitation… we probably wouldn't see the boys again after this trip. I made a mental note to talk to Derrick, but he'd already dropped hints he wanted to stay in touch.

I slid on my robe and slippers before quietly leaving the room, making sure not to wake Claire. I ran to the boys' cabin, knocking lightly three times before Derrick opened the door. I gave him a big hug and inhaled the scent of his shampoo on his damp hair before I noticed Cam over his shoulder. He was sitting on his bed looking pretty dejected.

"Okay, Cam, what's this all about?" I asked as I entered the room, stopping directly in front of him. He looked up with a hint of surprise in his eyes but recovered quickly.

"Massie, I need some advice," he stated, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I'd thought that much was obvious. I went to sit next to Derrick on his bed, and he pulled me close to him. Then I looked back at Cam expectantly.

"So Claire doesn't want to be with me because we are going home in three days. At first I thought I was okay with that, because I can understand that it would be hard to get feelings involved for that short a time." He paused for a breath and I nodded, willing him to get to the point. "But the problem is feelings have already gotten involved. And if she would let this be something, I wouldn't just stop talking to her once we return home. Listening to Derrick gush about you made me realize I like Claire enough to want to pursue this outside of our school trip. And I was wondering, maybe, if you think I told her all of that, she would give me another shot?" He let out a breath and I internally squealed. I looked over to see Derrick blushing a little at the gushing comment which was cute. But my focus needed to be Cam now.

"Yes!" I blurted, before putting myself in check. "Yes, I do think she would want that. But if you haven't noticed, she has a bit of an inferiority complex. You can't just march up to her and say 'I want to date you outside of this trip so let's go', you have to make a grand gesture for her to believe it. Sweep her off her feet!"

I was getting excited as the wheels started turning in my head, crafting a plan that would win Claire over and prove to her that Cam was for real.

"Lean in guys. This is what we're gonna do."

**Derrick**

"Where's Cam?" Claire asked as she sat down across from me in the booth for breakfast.

"Showering," I replied casually, "where's Massie?"

"I don't know? She was having trouble picking out an outfit, and told me to go ahead without her. I thought she was getting over the stressing over outfits thing." She sighed, and I tried my best to look sympathetic. I knew Massie had stayed behind to do some digging. "So I'm super excited for the Archaeological Museum," she offered, and then started explaining to me how she used to want to be a paleontologist when she was little. I could imagine cute little Claire digging for dinosaur bones in her sand box.

"Hey guys!" Massie plopped down in the booth next to Claire, looking effortlessly put together as usual, and shot me a wink to signal _Phase One: Complete_. "Where's Cam?" She asked, doing a very good job to look confused, and I managed not to laugh.

"Showering," Claire and I responded at the same time, causing her and Massie to laugh. Girls.

"So, you must be excited for the Archaeological Museum, Claire," Massie commented, which started the whole conversation off again. I excused myself to get more eggs, and as I was walking around I noticed how nearly everyone in the dining room was paired off. I was so happy everything had gotten straightened out with me and Massie, and I knew we owed it to them to do everything we could for Cam and Claire.

**Massie**

I loved being on the inside for once. Steering the plans, in charge of the game. I had managed to find Claire's iPod this morning and deliver it to Cam, who should be finishing up with it right about… I checked my watch… Now.

"Ah! I just remembered I forgot something in our room. Will you order me another glass of orange juice please?" I said quickly, standing up and rushing out of the dining hall without waiting for an answer. I flew down the stairs and met Cam in front of our door.

"Done?" I asked.

"Done." He replied.

"Perfect. I am going to wait five minutes, and head back up. You should probably go up right now!" I instructed.

"Good, 'cause I'm hungry!" he exclaimed, right as his stomach growled. I laughed and watched him head up the stairs before entering our room and putting the iPod back exactly as I found it. Then I sat on my bed to wait five minutes. I much preferred being on a team with Cam instead of trying to pursue him. Now that I was no longer trying to get him, he was much nicer and easy to get along with. Good thing I realized I like Derrick more before I made TOO big a fool out of myself!

I checked my phone and realized five minutes was up, so I looked around for something to take. I applied a layer of gloss and put earrings in, knowing Claire would notice the changes and not bother asking what took me so long. I smiled to myself, glad everything was going well so far, and headed upstairs to join the others.

**Claire**

Seeing the Archaeological Museum was such a highlight. They had all these artifacts and how they were used, and then you could see the ruins of some buildings and some statues. It was cool because while it wasn't the famous, larger than life ruins known by everyone all over the world, it was more daily life type things.

"So what'd you think?" Cam asked, coming over to me as we exited the museum. We'd all tried to stick together, but I'd gotten so excited I kept running ahead.

"That was so cool," I gushed, telling him which exhibits were my favorite. "I think Sicily has shot up to the top of my favorite places list."

We waved over Massie and Derrick and headed to find lunch.

Over authentic pizzas we had easy conversation, and I was just so glad that Cam was respecting my decision but still being a great friend. Having him so close, not all tied up because of Massie and completely being himself, only made me want him more. But I doubted there was any way we could ever work long distance, especially after only knowing each other for such a short time. I'd already fallen hard, and we'd been on good terms for less than a day. I knew if I allowed myself to let him in further, it would hurt that much more once we were back in the real world. Maybe that's wimpy of me, but all I could think about was how hard it would be already to not have him in my life.

"Claire?" Massie asked, nudging my foot under the table and bringing me back to the conversation. "We were saying we should get going to make the bus to the Valley of the Temples."

"Oh yes!" I couldn't help clapping my hands, and they all laughed. I rolled my eyes and stood up from the table. They followed suit, and Derrick threw down a twenty to cover his and Massie's meal, but I rushed to contribute my money before Cam could do the same for me. I didn't want any blurred lines.

"Guys, we've gotta go," Massie said impatiently, and we all started moving towards the bus. But then she did something completely unexpected. I can't remember the last time I saw this happen. She started to _run_. Derrick, Cam, and I exchanged a look before taking off after her, laughing the whole way.

**Cam**

The Valley of the Temples was so cool, but the best part was how excited Claire got about everything. I was definitely interested in the subject, but wasn't as knowledgeable about it as she was. It was so great to know a girl who had passions besides clothes and makeup and celebrity news. It was clear that Claire put her whole self into everything she did.

I was trying my best to not step over any boundaries. I knew Massie was masterminding this whole plan and didn't want to screw it up. She was right, that I would have to work to convince Claire that I was actually in this for real. I mean, Derrick and I had always talked about moving to the east coast for college, so it's not like the idea is terribly far-fetched. I just hoped Massie's idea would work as well as we predicted.

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><p><em>So can anyone guess what the plan is? People who have read the book might be able to tell. Probably a good time to remind everyone that this plot isn't mine; it's based not-so-loosly on True Love, the Sphinx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles by Tyne O'Connell. Obviously the characters aren't mine either. I'll be pretty busy this week, y'know independence day stuff and all that, but I'll update as soon as I can! I hope everyone has a really great 4th.<em>

_Hugs,_

_-Sky_


	21. Chapter 21

_Hey guys! I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! Here's the next chapter. _

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><p>**Claire**<p>

"So, how's it going with you and Cam?" Massie asked me, waggling her eyebrows. We were in our room getting dressed for dinner, and she had insisted that we look especially nice.

"I already told you last night, we're just going to be friends. It's not like we'll see each other after this, so I want to keep things simple," I answered with a sigh, adjusting my skirt in the mirror.

"Oh. Well, maybe he'll want to stay in touch after! Would you want to if he wanted to?" She asked, and I sighed again. I'd thought long and hard about this question, but eventually I'd forced myself to stop. It's not like there was even the option. But I looked up and she was staring at me, expecting an answer.

"Oh Massie, of course I would want to. But there is not even a chance that would be the case. I have a very hard time believing he doesn't have plenty of options back home; why would he want to keep up a long distance relationship with some girl he met on a cruise and knew for such a short time?"

"But he _likes_ you! I can tell!" she insisted, and for some reason I got the sense that she was pushing this for some reason other than the fact that she wanted to get credit for setting me up with a guy.

"We'll see," I answered, wanting to end the conversation, "If he really likes me then he'll convince me of it himself." She shrugged and I knew she agreed. "What is the after-dinner activity tonight?

"Karaoke," she replied sitting up. "Claire, I know this isn't your thing, but like you said we won't ever see these people again. Promise me you'll sing at least one song?" Her big brown eyes were begging and I slightly resented her for the fact that I could never turn her down.

"Okay, I promise," I replied, knowing this was going to be a loooong night.

**Derrick**

"I'm nervous," Cam admitted to me, fiddling with his computer as he burned a disc. I patted his shoulder.

"You'll be fine, man. Claire is into you, you know that. You're just gonna have to show her how much you like her! A grand gesture, as Massie called it," I tried to reassure him. "After tonight, she won't be able to question how much she means to you."

"I know this will show her that," he nodded, and I felt better that he would go through with it.

My phone buzzed, and I checked to see that it was from Massie. I couldn't help but smile just at the sight of her name.

"Ugh," I let out a moment later after reading the message, "She says we should dress semi-nice." I turned to search through my closet for something to change into. Of course Cam simply reached into his closet and pulled out a dress shirt and nice jeans. Of course the kid had it easy; he always knew how to dress nicely.

"So, how are you and Massie planning to stay together after we leave?" Cam asked, startling me from my thoughts of what to wear.

"I mean, I have relatives in NYC. And we'll be out there next year to visit colleges. Until then, there's email and skype," I answered. Massie and I hadn't really talked specifics other than acknowledging that we should try our best to make it work.

Can had a small smile on his face, though he didn't say anything. I guess he was finally starting to really believe this could actually end up working out for him.

**Massie**

I was so excited all through dinner that I could barely eat. Cam and Claire were chatting across the table and I was glad that they were getting along so well despite the fact that they would both rather be more than just friends. Luckily for them, that was all about to change. I held Derricks hand and rested my head on his shoulder as he ate his meal, and every once in a while he'd give my hand a squeeze. I was so content and comfortable with him, knowing that he liked me because he knew who I really was and not just as another model-pretty Westchester girl.

Cam and Claire were so deep in conversation that they didn't get up to move when Ginnah started calling people into the Green Lounge for Karaoke. I allowed myself to admire how cute they were for a minute before taking charge again.

"Let's go, guys!" I clapped twice to get their attention. Derrick just chuckled next to me. They looked up, startled. Claire blushed slightly before exiting the booth but Cam's face was a mask. I positioned myself next to him as we left the dining hall, and nudged him with my elbow. He turned his head and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Showtime," I stated, realizing it sounded kind of cheesy. But I was so done caring about how everything I said sounded. It was so nice to not be on edge all the time about how every little thing I did would be received. I could finally be myself.

We sat towards the back of the room while Ginnah passed out lists of the songs we could choose, and I nudged Cam's arm. Then I leaned over him and tapped Claire's leg to get her attention.

"Hey, let's let the boys pick for us. Y'know, so it's a surprise!" I suggested, and watched Claire sideglance at Cam before nodding her consent.

"Sure, I'll do it," she agreed, shooting Cam a playful grin. He grinned back and I internally squealed. They were just too cute!

"You better pick well, Camster," I teased, "You know how important music is to Claire!"

He turned to her, looked straight into her eyes, and replied "I think I've got a good one in mind."

**Claire**

I loved seeing Massie this way, more joking and fun loving and less uptight about acting perfect. I was also glad to see that she and Cam were getting along well now that they weren't stuck in an awkward unrequited love situation. I could even feel myself opening up and relaxing; the boys were bringing out the best in us. Derrick and Cam got up to go request songs for us, and I was excited to see what Cam would pick. I knew he was one of the few people who'd ever really heard me sing, so he would be uniquely qualified to make a good selection.

"What do you think Derrick will pick for you?" I asked Massie, and she just shrugged. She was too busy looking longingly across the room to where he was. I felt a slight twang of jealousy. It was so obvious Derrick adored her right back. If only Cam was like that about me then maybe I wouldn't feel so sad all the time. I had come to realize that friends or more, it was hard to be around him and all of his adorableness and knowing it probably would never work out.

I was excited to sing though. I'd always wanted to be the kind of girl who was confident enough to perform, but I'd always stuck to more behind-the-scenes stuff. But here, where it seemed like half the kids were drunk anyway, I somehow didn't feel nervous. I was glad Massie had made me promise to do a song, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have volunteered.

"Hey," Cam said when they returned, sliding his arm around my shoulder. I leaned back into it instinctively, but once I'd realized what I was doing I didn't want to pull away. I just smiled up at him.

"So, I think Alicia is going first," Derrick said, motioning to where Josh was basically pushing her onto the stage. We all laughed and sat back to listen to the people going before us.

After Alicia, Chris, a group of jocks, and Libby and Alexandra went, it was Massie's turn.

"Here goes nothing!" She exclaimed as she got up, smiling extra brightly. I turned and shared a smile with Derrick as she walked up towards the stage. I was so happy everything had worked out well between them.

The first chords of I'm Yours by Jason Mraz played out, and Massie looked confused before recognizing it and jumping right in. She was loose, sort of bopping to the beat and she hit all the notes. She seemed very proud of herself when she finished, and Derrick had this giant grin on his face the entire time. Once he released her from a huge hug, she turned to me.

"You're turn, Clairebear," she tilted her head toward the stage and raised her eyebrows. I stood up slowly and her expression changed to a reassuring grin.

Cam squeezed my hand and whispered, "Have fun up there."

I walked up to the stage and silently thanked Massie for the idea of letting the guys pick. If I knew the song choice right now, I would be letting myself overanalyze it. This way I had no choice but to just sing.

The stage guy handed me a mic and went to go cue up the music. The TV with the words was on, but there were no words rolling yet. All of a sudden the first notes of a very familiar song played out. I looked to the lyric screen but it was still blank. And as my mind raced a mile a minute, I figured out what was going on. This was the song I'd been working on this whole cruise! I'd just finished it two days ago. How had they—my head snapped up and I made eye contact with Cam. He was giving me a thumbs up, and Derrick and Massie were smiling beside him. The lyrics were about to come in and I had no choice but to sing.

_Friday night beneath the stars,  
>in a field behind your yard,<br>you and I are paintin' pictures in the sky.  
>And sometimes we don't say a thing;<br>just listen to the crickets sing.  
>Everything I need is right here by my side.<br>And I know everything about you  
>I don't wanna live without you.<em>

_I'm only up when you're not down._  
><em>Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground.<em>  
><em>It's like no matter what I do.<em>  
><em>Well you drive me crazy half the time;<em>  
><em>the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true.<em>  
><em>And I'm only me when I'm with you.<em>

**Cam**

Claire's voice was perfection as she sang the song I'd swiped from her iPod. At first I was nervous she wasn't pleased that she was basically forced to sing one of her own songs, but as the verses went on I could tell that she was really enjoying the whole live performance thing. It was clear the audience didn't know the song as they sat through the first half just listening intently. But when the chorus came back in again people began to nod their heads and get into it. So far, everything was going as planned. I just hoped this was enough to show Claire how much I care about her.

* * *

><p><em>So I pretended that Claire wrote "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" by TSwift. This story is almost over! I'd say approximately three chapters left, depending on how long I drag it out. Thanks for putting up with my sporadic updates!<em>

_Hugs,_

_Sky_


	22. Chapter 22

_Hey Guys! Hope everyone is having a good summer. Here is the next chapter!_

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><p>**Massie**<p>

I was so proud of my best friend. She was rocking it! I saw Alicia and Dylan turn back towards me, and we locked eyes. They dropped their jaws in an I-had-no-idea-she-could-sing-like-that way, and I just shrugged and half-smiled. The rest of the crowd seemed to agree, nodding their heads to the beat. I heard one of the drunk jocks let out a "Duuuuude", and I knew everyone in the room was looking at Claire in a new light. She was a natural performer, and it was like her normally shy self had been abducted by her confident and sassy alter ego. Derrick put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in closer, planting a light kiss on the top of my head. Cam just sat there watching Claire with the goofiest grin.

Once the song came to an end, people jumped to their feet and gave a standing ovation. Seemingly coming back to earth, Claire was more like herself as she blushed and looked extremely shy, retreating to the back of the stage to return the microphone. People were still clapping as she made her way to leave the stage, so she gave a little wave before running down the steps and the side aisle back to our row. The next singer was being set up on stage, but all my focus was on Claire and Cam. I hoped she would carry all the confidence she'd had during her performance to finally, finally get together with her perfect guy.

**Cam**

I locked eyes with Claire as she came down the aisle towards us and tried to decipher the emotion I saw emanating from her. It looked like pure joy. I hoped once she got off the high from her performance she would be able to associate the whole thing with me and how much I cared about her. I held out my arms for a hug as she approached, but she surprised me and everyone else by throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me.

The first thing that registered was shock, but when she pulled away slightly to look into my eyes, I immediately dove back in. Her lips were soft and sweet, and the kiss was ten times better than in my imagination. I felt all the stress and negative feelings from the last week drain out of me, and all that was left was happiness.

When we broke apart, I could tell her smile matched mine. I grabbed her hand and squeezed, and we sat down to watch the rest of the current song. Once they finished though, Massie ushered us out the back door. I looked around as we escaped, hoping no one would notice. But my eyes briefly caught Ginnah's, and I was about to panic before she gave me a thumbs up. I smiled back and slipped quietly out the door. When we got out onto the main deck the stars were shining so beautifully, I let out a sigh.

Derrick led the four of us over to the lounge chairs the girls had been sittng in the very first time we laid eyes on them, and somehow that felt right.

**Derrick**

"So Claire, how do you feel?" I asked, loosely wrapping my arms around Massie's waist. I would never be able to thank her enough for getting me the girl of my dreams, so I was beyond happy that she was finally getting the guy of hers.

"Woah. That was exhilarating!" She exclaimed, her face in a perma-grin. "I think I'm going to have to look into live performances when I get home. Singing alone to my recording equipment isn't going to cut it anymore."

"Hey, New York is probably full of cafés with open mic nights, right?" I suggested, and she just nodded, and then shook her head slightly like she still didn't believe everything that had just happened.

"Don't worry, Claire," Massie piped up, "consider me your new manager! We'll get you booked all over Westchester." I laughed to myself, knowing this was the perfect job for Massie.

"Just don't forget us when you're famous," Cam joked, nudging her with his elbow.

She looked up at him, locking eyes, and replied seriously, "I could never." Short and simple, but I knew those words carried a lot of meaning. I slowly stood up and offered Massie a hand; she took it and rose as well. We left them alone quietly, but they didn't acknowledge it, still looking at each other.

"They'll work it out. Right? They've got to!" Massie whispered to me when we got farther away.

"You know they will," I confirmed, and she wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up expectantly. I grinned before leaning in to kiss her. It was still thrilling, every time I kissed her was better than the last. When we pulled apart we went back into the Green lounge to watch the rest of the karaoke. I was so glad everything was finally straightened out.

**Claire**

Cam and I were having a de facto staring contest. There was so much I wanted to say and I knew he had a lot to say as well, but where to start? I wanted to kiss him again, his lips looked so appealing and part of me wished for my previous confidence back. But I knew we had some things to straighten out first.

"Thank you so much for tonight," I broke the silence with the least complicated topic, "I can't believe you arranged all of that for me! It was perfect, I had so much fun." He was beaming and I could tell he was really proud to have pulled it off.

"Claire, you're an amazing singer and songwriter. The world deserves to know that," he replied, causing me to blush. I could tell he was being sincere, if somewhat cheesy, and finally everything Massie had been trying to convince me of seemed clear. He really did care about me. But where did that leave us?

"I meant it," I took a deep breath before continuing, "when I said I could never forget you." He closed his eyes for a minute and let out a breath. Then he turned to me and smiled, draping an arm across my shoulders.

"Claire, I know I've only known you for a little over a week. But it feels like so much longer than that. And this is going to sound really cheesy, but do you believe in love at first sight?" I inhaled sharply in surprise at his question and he continued. "I've already told you that I was hooked the first day. I know things got muddled at the beginning, but never once have I wavered on how I feel about you. And the more I get to know you the more I can't picture you not being in my life. I can't just go home tomorrow and cut off all contact, it doesn't work like that. I won't forget you either." It was a lot to process, but every reaction I was feeling was positive. I let out a happy sigh and melted a little more into his arm.

"Cam, I don't know what to say," I replied, "I didn't think this was possible. But you're right, it feels wrong to not even try to make this work. I will always wonder what could have been."

"Good," he grinned at me, "I'm glad that's settled then. Now let's make the most of the rest of our time together." To demonstrate what he meant by that, he leaned in and kissed me. And as I kissed back, I felt the universe smiling, as if it were saying _finally_.

* * *

><p><em>So as you can see, most of the excitement is over. I'll probably post a wrap up chapter and their time in Athens. Thanks for sticking with me on this story guys!<em>

_Hugs,_

_-Sky_


	23. Chapter 23

_Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. Hope everyone's been having an awesome summer! Here is the last chapter, sniff. It's a little rushed, sorry!_

* * *

><p>**Massie**<p>

When I woke up, I felt Derrick's arms wrapped around me and I couldn't help but smile and snuggle closer to him. The events of last night came rushing back to me, from Claire singing her song and finally getting with Cam, to the guys hanging out in our room and talking until like 2 am when we all fell asleep. I looked over to see Claire and Cam in a similar position, except she was still asleep. Cam looked like he had just woken up as well, but he gave me a lazy smile. I really felt like this trip had changed our lives for the better. Everything was finally perfect.

Derrick let out a yawn and stretched, dislodging me from my previous position. I sat up slowly and crossed my arms, missing his warmth.

"Goodmorning," he whispered, and Cam and I whispered it back. I guess we weren't quiet enough though because Claire started to stir. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she gave a lazy grin.

"Morning guys," she turned her head to smile back at Cam. But as she turned her head back normal, I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Alright boys, we'll meet you at breakfast," I commanded authoritatively, sitting up and walking to the door, and holding it open until they finally climbed out of bed and headed back to their room to get dressed.

"What is it now?" I asked Claire as I shut the door behind them and walked over to her bed where she was still snuggled in the blankets.

"Ehh. I'll be fine once I get out of bed. I'm just sad that this is our last day with them," she sighed, stretching.

"Me, too," I admitted with a yawn and walking towards the closet. "But they'll come visit us in New York. You know they will," I assured her.

"You're right," she admitted, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. "I'm so glad Cam and I worked everything out. I can't believe he did all that just to show me how much he cares."

I couldn't help but giggle at that as she walked over to join me. I knew that nothing less would have convinced her to give a long distance relationship with Cam a try, but I was glad she was happy about it.

"Well, let's give them something glamorous to remember us by," she tilted her head towards the closet with a grin. I grinned back hugely as we went to work picking our outfits for our last chance to hang out with the guys… at least for a while.

**Derrick**

I couldn't believe we were about to have to say goodbye to the girls, but I was more than thankful everything had worked out well. I looked around the breakfast table at my best friend, my girlfriend, and my best girl friend, and couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Massie caught my eye and smiled back.

"I can't believe we get a free day to explore Athens!" Claire gushed, her eyes bright. Cam squeezed her hand and I nodded in agreement.

"Me neither," Massie replied, equally enthusiastic, "let's try and get off the boat first to beat the traffic."

We all agreed and got up to clear our plates before heading out to the deck to wait by the ramp. If we got off the boat behind everyone else then we'd have to sit in the back of the bus and be the last to get off once we arrived in Athens.

Claire was literally bouncing with excitement as we exited the boat. We took our seats at the front and nearly everyone complimented her karaoke performance as they passed. I looked over at Massie, who was beaming with pride, and couldn't help but smile. I was amazed that she could be that proud of someone else's success, but it made me happy as well. I tried not to think about the fact that I'd be boarding a plane home after dinner and focus on the time we had left together. She made it easy though, keeping me engaged throughout the bus ride until we arrived in the heart of the city. I leaned in to kiss the top of her head and caught a whiff of her shampoo. It was an enchanting scent, and I knew whoever else wore it would always remind me of Massie.

We left the bus and the four of us stood in a line, marveling at the city. We had the whole day to explore on our own, and I had no idea where to start.

"Hey, check that out," Cam spoke up, pointing to where there were a row of scooters for rent. Claire's eyes instantly brightened, and Massie looked beyond excited. She clapped her hands and turned to me.

"Oh can we please?" I shared a look with Cam, who shrugged before nodding. We led the girls over to the vendor.

"Americans?" the sales guy asked, but before I could reply, Cam answered back in Greek. I shook my head and laughed to myself. Of course he did. Claire and Massie looked slightly confused, but I knew Cam must be getting us a good deal.

Sure enough he handed the guy a wad of bills and turned to us.

"C'mon, two of these are ours for the day," he announced, leading us over to where the scooters were parked. I shot him a thank-you grin as the girls rushed over to look at the scooters and put their helmets on. I hopped on a bike and revved the engine, trying to get a feel for how it would move. I slowed it to allow Massie to climb on behind me, and grinned when I felt her wrap her arms around my waist. I glanced over to make sure that Cam and Claire were settled and nodded my head once to indicate that we were ready, and with that we took off to explore the city of Athens.

**Cam**

I couldn't imagine a better feeling than zipping through the streets of Athens with Claire clinging to my waist and our best friends at our sides. I felt relaxed and free in a city I had toured a couple times before, en route to visiting relatives elsewhere in Greece. We stopped at the Parthenon, Acropolis, and other cool Ancient Greek attractions. I could see that light come alive in Claire again, and found her passion for mythology totally endearing. There was something about her when she was excited about music or history that just made me want to know how her mind worked, which was a huge change from the ambitionless girls I knew back home. I wasn't looking forward to going back to that, but I was so glad I would have Claire to talk to even if we'd be far away. I was already planning a trip to New York over the summer.

We pulled up to a beautiful fountain, and Derrick immediately started snapping pictures while Claire and Massie posed.

"Get in there, Cam!" he gestured for me to join them, but I shook my head.

"Only if you come too," I answered.

"I'll go ask that couple if they'll take a picture of us," Claire offered, running over to a couple with a scooter. They were faced away from us, but something seemed oddly familiar about the woman.

"Excuse me—" Claire stopped short as they turned and I heard Massie gasp from her spot up on the fountain.

"Oh, hello Claire!" said none other than Ginnah. Derrick and I exchanged a look. I think we both had a feeling what was coming next.

"Hi Ginnah… and Mr. Myner?" Claire's shock was apparent, and I heard Massie whisper 'no way' under her breath.

"Hey Claire, what can we do for you?" He replied.

"Oh," she said, flustered, "we were just hoping to find someone to take a picture of us here."

"Sure thing," Myner replied, "as long as you return the favor," he smiled down at Ginnah who nodded.

Derrick handed them his camera and we all climbed up on the fountain.

"Say cheese!" He called out as he snapped the picture.

We climbed down and Derrick took the camera Ginnah handed to him.

"Put all that time you waste in my class fiddling with cameras to use," she instructed with a wink.

When they hopped down, Mr. Myner went over to talk to the girls while Ginnah came to us to see how the picture turned out.

"Hold on to these ones," she said quietly, and it took me a moment to realize that she was talking about Massie and Claire. Derrick looked up, confused, not yet understanding. "They're good girls. Better than ones you'll find at Allymore. Not it any creepy way, but I've been watching you guys, and I'm so glad you all finally got together." She grinned, and I returned it.

"Well, how about you and Myner?" I responded. "He seems like a pretty solid guy. The girls seem to like him as a teacher at least," I told her.

"Yeah well, I'm not sure I should talk about these kinds of things with my students," she blushed slightly, "but things are going well. We'll see. I'm amused that you guys picked up on it before the girls did," she commented, causing Derrick and I to share a knowing grin.

Massie and Claire let out a huge laugh at whatever Mr. Myner had just said to them, causing all of us to look over.

"Well, I guess we should head out and see the rest of Athens," Derrick said, and I could tell all he wanted was to get back to Massie's side.

"Yea. It was good running into you guys. Remember, the bus leaves for the airport at 4:30. See you then," Ginnah reminded us before starting to head back to her scooter. We returned to ours, and waited for the girls, who came over almost immediately.

As we waved to the teachers and prepared to head out, Massie turned back and yelled out "good _work_ Mr. Myner!" with a cat call. Cracking up, we sped away to go find lunch.

**Claire**

It was both the saddest and happiest day ever. I was so wrapped up in Cam and the city and Massie and Derrick. I just never wanted it to end.

I still couldn't believe that Ginnah and Mr. Myner were like a thing! How had that completely gone over my head? Still, I was beyond happy for them. This trip had been good for everybody.

We got lunch at an outdoor vendor, and I had the most amazing kebab and stuffed grape leaves of my life. Then we spent the afternoon zipping around the city and popping in and out of little shops. Cam bought me this amazing journal to write songs in, since he noticed my old one was getting full. It was covered in starts that made the shapes of constellations. I knew I would think of him every time I used it.

Derrick bought Massie some bracelets and one of those crowns made of olive branches. I giggled seeing her in it, because she did look very regal.

I would always remember Athens as one of my favorite cities. Not just because I had always wanted to go to Greece, but it was the place where everything was finally perfect. That's what I thought as we returned out scooters and headed for the bus. I was taking mental snapshots the whole time. I was glad Derrick had that amazing camera of his.

We made it through security with no problems, and the boys came to wait with us at our gate since they had a later flight. Cam and I had a thumb war, while Massie just laid with her head on Derrick's shoulder. I'd never seen her so pensive and reflective before. But I smiled, knowing Derrick had helped her drop her need to put up a perfect façade all the time.

"Calling all passengers for flight 5729 to London. Please prepare for boarding," a man said over the loudspeaker. I looked at Cam sadly, and he gave my hand a squeeze. Normally I'm so against PDA, but when he leaned in to give me one last kiss, I responded eagerly.

"Hey," he whispered when we broke apart, "I'll see you soon, okay?" I nodded in response, knowing he meant it and would do everything in his power to come see me. I truly believed him, and after everything he'd done to prove how much he cared for me, how could I not?

We went through the line to get our boarding passes scanned, and once we were through I turned back to see Derrick and Cam waving goodbye to us. I waved back and blew a kiss before turning to walk down the jetway. Massie fell into step with me and gave me an elbow jab and a grin. Sure our trip was eneding, but it had been the best one of our lives. I was thankful for an experience I would never forget.

**Epilogue**

"Welcome, students, to Columbia University Class of 2017 Freshman Orientation!" A voice cut through the crowd over the large speaker system. Students were milling about or chatting in groups, excited to start college. Two girls walked slowly through the crowd, not stopping to chat or make new friends.

"Where are they?" The brunette asked eagerly, bouncing on her toes. "They said they'd be here by now."

"We'll find them soon," the blonde reassured her friend, scanning the crowd.

Two guys walking behind them nudged each other. The blonde put a finger to his lips, and they both nodded. Then, as if on an invisible count, they ran forward and picked up the two girls, spinning them around.

"Cam!" The blond girl squealed, giggling.

"Derrick!" The brunette yelled as well.

"Happy to see us?" Derrick asked, giving his girlfriend a kiss on the nose.

"Took you long enough," she replied, rolling her eyes and giggling.

The four of them found a place to sit in the crowd and quieted down as the orientation speeches began, preparing for an awesome next four years of learning and partying and NYC living—but most importantly, being together.

* * *

><p><em>So there you go! Give Me the Meltdown is officially complete. I'm leaving in a couple of days for my own college orientation, so I probably won't be on here anymore. I will post one more oneshot I wrote for Kea, but that's it! Thanks everyone for sticking with this story through the years it took me to write it! If you liked it, go read the real version, <em>True Love, The Sphinx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles _by Tyne O'Connell! _

_Infinite hugs,_

_-Sky_


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